A Dinkytown couple was the victim of a vehicle theft Monday morning.

When they left their house for work Monday morning, Dinkytown resident Mariza Fleming and her husband noticed their car pulling away.

Fleming and her husband ran alongside the car and tried to get in, but the doors were locked. As she ran after the car, the pocket of Fleming’s jacket caught on the side view mirror, and she was dragged alongside.

The driver swerved abruptly to shake her loose, hitting another car in the process. As the driver swerved, Fleming’s coat became unstuck from the car and she fell.

The man drove away onto Interstate 35W. Fleming said she sustained only minor injuries.

Minneapolis police Public Information Officer John Elder said police are sometimes able to locate stolen vehicles, but whether they are able to and how long it takes depends on a number of factors.

When vehicles are stolen, Elder said, they are put on a “hot sheet” that lists recently stolen vehicles and is distributed to police officers.

Fleming said police saw the car parked on the street Tuesday afternoon and impounded it.

She bought the car a few months ago from Craigslist, she said. The man Fleming bought it from said he got the car from a friend who owed him money but gave him the car instead.

Fleming said she thinks the man who owed money may have taken the car, which could explain how the man was able to take the car without breaking in. She said she thinks the man who sold her the car didn’t have the original owner’s permission to sell it.

Fleming said her family moved to Dinkytown from north Minneapolis because they thought it was a better neighborhood, but they’re having second thoughts.

“Honestly,” Fleming said, “I would feel more safe out there.”

Ruckus at the Rarig

A group of students entered a room in the University of Minnesota’s Rarig Center overnight Thursday and marked it up with chalk.

A department faculty member discovered the damage Thursday morning, according to the University police report. Chalk was scrawled across places in the room that were run down or that needed maintenance. Pieces of fabric hanging from the walls were also torn down, said Theatre Arts and Dance Department Chair Carl Flink.

The incident took place in Rarig’s black box theater. Flink said the room is heavily used and gets a lot of wear and tear.

The department is investigating the incident but doesn’t believe it is threatening in nature.

“We’re not concerned about safety,” Flink said.

Purse snipper

A University student was the victim of a theft at the Library Bar and Grill in Dinkytown early Sunday morning.

The student noticed her purse strap had broken or been cut, according to the Minneapolis police report. The strap was still on her shoulder, but the purse was missing.

After retracing her steps to look for the purse, she received a text from her missing phone that said the finder was too drunk to return it, and that they hadn’t found the purse. The credit card was used at a nearby gas station early Thursday morning, the report said.

The next day, the student tried again to contact the phone but was unsuccessful, according to the report. She tracked the phone’s GPS to an address in St. Paul.

When she knocked on the door, the apartment’s residents peeked out of the door but refused to come out. The student said in the report she smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the apartment.