Two men stole their own cars the first weekend in March from the Cedar Towing lot located on the 3200 block of Como Avenue Southeast.
A man whose 1999 BMW was towed from the Grandmarc at Seven Corners apartment complex on Washington Avenue jumped the fence surrounding the lot March 1 and took his car, said Thomas, Cedar Towing’s assistant manager.
Cedar Towing employees do not provide their last names because they are often threatened by people whose cars they have towed, Thomas said.
Snow had been piled up next to the fence surrounding the lot of the adjacent property making it easy for the men to scale the fence.
If the men tried to take their cars from the Minneapolis impound lot they could have been shot, Thomas said.
“He can be charged with theft from a business,” Thomas said. “He’s old enough to know the difference between right and wrong.”
Cedar Towing will press charges if the towing fees are not paid, Thomas said. The men can also be charged with burglary.
The second man went to the Cedar lot March 2 to pay towing fines and retrieve his car, a 1991 Dodge Monaco, towed from the Eastgate Shopping Center on Central Avenue Southeast. Thomas said the man was short $25 but took his car anyway.
“He’s going to come down and pay the rest this week,” Thomas said.
He said the father of the BMW owner sent Cedar Towing a check to cover the towing costs.
“If this ever happens again we will press charges,” Thomas said.
This is the first time anyone has stolen his or her own car from the towing service in five years.
In other police news:
ïUniversity police searched a 19-year-old University freshman’s Pioneer Hall room March 4 at the request of the Onalaska, Wis., Police Department, according to a search warrant.
Onalaska police suspect a hall resident and others stole $4,129 from the Onalaska Dairy Queen on Aug. 3. Police are gathering evidence to charge the resident with felony theft, according to the search warrant.
One of the suspects told Onalaska police the resident and his accomplices purchased electronic equipment with the money they stole and said the electronics were in the residence hall room, according to the warrant.
University police seized a DVD player, a digital audio/video surround sound system and three DVDs, according to the search warrant.
ïUniversity police arrested three men March 5 for lurking with intent to commit a crime.
Nathan Rowland Peterson, 21, was cited for lurking and booked in Hennepin County Jail for an outstanding warrant, according to the police report.
Another man, 19, was cited for lurking and underage alcohol consumption. A third man, 21, was cited for lurking, according to the report.
University police Capt. Steve Johnson said the men were walking along East River Road when officers spotted them. The men ran to the sidewalk when they saw the squad car.
The officers stopped to talk to the men and one said they were trying to get into the University steam tunnel system, Johnson said.
The steam tunnels house the pipes bringing utility service to University buildings, he said.
Police brought the men to University police headquarters and questioned them further. Police found two headlamps, a three-inch knife, a multipurpose head tool, a large safety pin, a mini-Maglite flashlight and a lighter on the men, according to the report.
Two of the men were released, according to the police report.
Peterson appeared in court Tuesday morning but remains in custody without bail. He is being held for outstanding warrants in Washington and Anoka counties.
ïMinneapolis police arrested a 19-year-old woman Thursday for prostitution in an apartment on the 2500 block of University Avenue Southeast.
The woman agreed to perform a sexual act for money on an undercover police officer in her residence, according to the police report.
She was also cited for maintaining a disorderly house – a building in which violations of the law habitually occur. Prostitution is one of the crimes listed under the statute.
She was booked in Hennepin County Jail but has been released from custody.
Joanna Dornfeld welcomes comments at [email protected]
