$7.7M 'Inheritance' Turns Out To Be $100,000 Loss: Oakdale Police Blotter

The following information was obtained from recent Oakdale Police reports.

Nov. 7

An identity theft call in the 7600 block of 15th Street Lane North. A woman said someone opened a Charter Communications account in her name for a Duluth address. A collections agency said she owes $199.81. Someone stole her purse in 2011 and took her Social Security card at the time, which could be connected. There are no suspects at this time.

A disturbance call in the 1300 block of Gentry Avenue North. A woman said her mother's ex-boyfriend was banging on the door of the home. An officer saw the man in a garage owned by his ex-girlfriend.. He was going through bags, and told the officer he needed to pick up insulin that was stored in the garage. The officer told him to get his insulin and leave the garage.

A 54-year-old Woodbury man was issued a citation after an assault call at Menards. An employee said a customer "punched him in the face and then threw a metal sign which incidentally hit another employee in the forehead." The employee did not have obvious injuries and the employee who was hit with the sign had a bump and small cut on her forehead. When an officer talked to the customer, he said he pushed the employee and threw the sign, but did not mean to hit anyone with it. The officer released him after giving him a citation.

A theft call at SuperAmerica. A 31-year-old Vadnais Heights man was cited after a SuperAmerica employee said he was "eating food and not paying for it." An officer found the "extremely intoxicated" man near McDonald's. The SuperAmerica employee signed a citizen's arrest and the officer issued the customer a citation.

A 22-year-old Hastings man was arrested after a theft call at Fleet Farm. An employee said the man concealed disposable sterile needles into his pants pocket and left without paying for them. The employee signed a citizen's arrest form. The officer found Dakota County felony warrants and took the man to jail.

A miscellaneous information call regarding Oakdale Elementary School. A woman said Oakdale Elementary staff has violated HIPAA laws by requesting information about the woman's daughter from their clinic. The woman's doctor and the Minnesota Department of Education told her to file a police report about the request. The case is pending.

Nov. 8

A theft call at SuperAmerica. An employee said a teenager put a $1.39 bottle of milk in his pants and walked out of the store. The employee did not want to press charges, but asked for information about filing trespassing complaints against shoplifters.

A parent reported a male student threatened her son. They are both Castle Elementary student who were riding on the bus. Her son, a fourth-grader, told the bus driver, who made the other student move away from her son. He didn't know the name of the student who threatened him, so the officer told her to talk to the school administration.

An officer responded to a reported stabbing in Landfall. "The victim had a large amount of blood on her from several stab wounds," according to the police report. 

Nov. 9

A theft complaint in the 1200 block of Glenbrook Avenue North. A woman said $100 of her rent money was missing from her dresser. She said her sister and a maintenance worker were at her home while she was at work. The woman told the property manager and signed an article theft report.

Someone reported a man was "masturbating" in his vehicle in the parking lot of Marcus Cinema. When the officer arrived, the man's vehicle, an orange Jeep Wrangler, was gone.

A theft complaint in the 6900 block of 26th Street Court North. A woman called police because her boyfriend took the battery out of her car. When the officer arrived, the man had returned the battery to the car. He said he took it out because the woman was drinking. The woman agreed to stay home and the man left.

Nov. 10

A theft report in the 500 block of Granada Avenue North. After a party, a man noticed four long guns, $400 in cash, a PlayStation 3 and one PS3 game were missing. The guns belong to his father and the cash and PlayStation belong to him. The man will provide a list of everyone at the party. An officer took fingerprints.

A temporary theft of motor vehicle call in the 7500 block of 15th Street Lane North. A woman said she allowed someone to use her vehicle on Nov. 8 and he hasn't returned it. A Pine County Sheriff's deputy stopped the male on Nov. 9 in Hinckley after a gas drive-off. She paid for the gas and gave the male permission to drive the car home. He still hasn't returned the car as of Nov. 10. The officer told her it's now a civil matter. The woman called again Nov. 14 to say he still had not returned the car. She signed a vehicle theft report, so the vehicle is now listed as stolen.

A motor vehicle accident in the 6900 block of 10th Street North. A woman said someone hit her Ford Focus between 9:30 p.m. Nov. 9 and 10:30 a.m. Nov. 10. An officer found a bumper and license plate, which did not belong to the Focus. The officer booked the bumper into evidence and will contact the owner to find out who was driving it at the time.

An 18-year-old St. Paul man was cited for taking $4.99 gloves and not paying for them. He was released.

A theft call at Mills Fleet Farm Gas Mart. An employee reported a man in his 20s has filled up with gas four times since Sept. 13 and didn't pay. The gas drive-offs were on Sept. 13 ($18), Sept. 25 ($34.98), Oct. 9 ($34.99) and Nov. 10 ($43.79). There is video from the last two drive-offs.

Nov. 11

A call about a domestic assault by strangulation. Someone reported a man and woman were involved in a physical domestic. The woman said the man strangled her. Oakdale police arrested the man for domestic assault strangulation. Washington County Jail staff wanted Lakeview Hospital to evaluate the man, due to his .404 blood-alcohol content. The hospital staff cleared him for jail. The man was later charged.

Nov. 12

A Tartan High School student reported that another girl called her names, challenged her to a fight and threatened her on Facebook. The officer contacted the Facebook girl's mother, who said she would "handle the situation and there will be no further problems." The officer then told the Tartan student's grandmother about the situation. The Tartan student said she is not frightened by the Facebook girl's comments.

A theft call in the 300 block of Greystone Avenue North. A man said he bought vehicle registration tabs for his father's vehicle. Someone took the tabs off the vehicle between Nov. 5 and Nov. 12. There are no suspects, but the officer recorded the sticker number.

A theft call at Mills Fleet Farm. A 31-year-old St. Paul man admitted to putting a flask, handi hook, parts bin, carpenter pencil and long-nose pliers in his hooded sweatshirt and trying to leave without paying. The officer issued him a citation and released him.

A theft report in the 2300 block of Hale Avenue North. A man reported that four lawn gnomes were taken from their home. His daughter received a text message from a friend, which showed the gnomes in the back seat of his car. The person who sent the text message said another person took the gnomes. When the officer called that person, he said it was "meant as a joke and he would return the gnomes." No charges will be filed.

Nov. 13

A theft report in the 1200 block of Glenbrook Avenue North. A woman was at a bar with another woman on Nov. 9 and dropped her ID. The other woman, who lived in Little Canada, picked up the ID and put it in her purse. The woman said the Little Canada woman is now mad at her and won't return the ID. The woman with the ID did not answer called from an officer or return messages. The officer referred the case to Ramsey County for a possible theft report.

A theft report at LA Fitness. A woman said between 3 p.m. and 3:38 p.m. Nov 13, someone smashed the driver's side window of her car and took two Wells Fargo ATM debit cards, two credit cards, her Social Security card, her driver's license, $500 in cash and rewards cards. There are no suspects and no surveillance footage. Someone charged more than $1,000 on her debit cards later that day.

A theft call at Mills Fleet Farm. An employee said a women tried to conceal a DeWalt 18V battery and charger kit, worth about $100. The woman left in a silver Chrysler with no license plates. A retired police officer said when the woman was backing out she ran over his right foot. The man got in front of the vehicle as it pulled forward and struck the windshield with his fanny pack. The blow shattered the windshield. The retired officer said he wasn't injured.

Nov. 16

A theft report at Fleet Farm. An employee said a 54-year-old White Bear Lake woman switched price tags on two items, so she paid a low price for an expensive item. She admitted the theft and was cited.

Nov. 17

A medical call in the 1500 block of Hallmark Circle North. A woman who was 38-weeks pregnant is having contractions 3 to 5 minutes apart. She was taken to St. John's Hospital.

A DWI call in the 6100 block of Upper 51st Street North. A 31-year-old St. Paul man was arrested after someone reported a man sleeping in a running car. When an officer arrived, he saw the man sleeping and "spitting up." The officer knocked on the window for a couple of minutes before the man woke up and opened the door. The officer smelled alcohol. The man said he was "drunk and does not remember how he got into his vehicle." He failed field-sobriety tests and was booked into the Washington County Jail. His blood-alcohol level was .16. Twin City Towing took the vehicle away.

A 44-year-old White Bear Lake man was booked into the Washington County Jail after he was in a crash in the 5600 block of Geneva Avenue North and did not have a license. He was cited for no ID and failure to yield.

Nov. 18

A man reported he had "been swindled out of $106,632." In August 2011 he received a letter that said he was going to inherit $7.7 million from a deceased relative. The man sent $832 to Madrid, Spain, on Aug. 24, 2011, "to begin the legal process." He transferred $30,800 to Madrid on Aug. 29, 2011; $20,000 on Sept. 7, 2011; and $55,000 on Sept. 28, 2011. When the person in Madrid asked him to send $170,000, he contacted police because he believed he was being scammed.

An 18-year-old St. Paul Park man was cited for shoplifting at Fleet Farm. Someone saw the man put a $1.99 flashlight in his jacket pocket and leave without paying. When an officer arrived, the man admitted he took the flashlight. The officer cited the man for shoplifting and let him leave.