HomeMy WebLinkAbout5.a. Citizen Appreciation Awards for Assistance to the Police Department CITY OF ROSEMOUNT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR ACTION
CITY COLTNCIL MEETING DATE: July 6, 1999
AGENDA ITEM : Citizen Appreciation Awards for Assistance to the AGENDA SECTION:
Police Department Department Head Reports
PREPARED BY: Gary D. Kalstabakken, Chief of Police , AGENT�'�2���, � � � `
� :�
ATTACHMENTS: None APPROVED BY:
Three citizens are being recognized for their assistance to the Police Department during the first six months of
1999. Each played an integral role in the arrest of a criminal, or criminals, that were responsible for significant
crimes in Rosemount, as well as in other communities.
The actions taken by the citizens exemplify the theory of policing espoused by Sir Robert Peel, founding
member of the London Metropolitan Police,when he said, "the police are the community and the public are the
police." The police rely on the cooperation and support of community members to assist in keeping the city
safe. In each of these three cases, the citizens' willingness to become involved led to the solving of crimes that
may otherwise have gone unsolved.
We greatly appreciate their assistance and wish to recognize them by giving them certificates of appreciation.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: No Action Necessary
COUNCIL ACTION:
Rosemount Police Department
Citizen Recognition
July 6, 1999
JanuarY 2S, 1999—McDonald's Burgl�rv
On January 25, 1999, Mr. Thomas Davis (Inver Grove Heights)was working as a
manager at the McDonalds located at 15035 Canada Avenue West. At around 10:27 p.m.
Mr. Davis noticed footprints on the toilet in the restroom. Instead of ignoring this
unusual finding, Davis continued to investigate and noticed that a ceiling tile above the
toilet was out of place. Again, he continued to investigate and discovered another
footprint on a paper dispenser. When he moved the ceiling tile, he found a baseball cap
and warm cup of coffee. At that point, he realized someone was hiding in the ceiling and
went immediately to call the police. However, before calling the police Mr. Davis
ensured that an employee watched the restroom in case the person tried to leave.
Upon returning from telephoning the police, he reehecked the restroom and saw the
suspect, Leonard Harlan Clarin(Farmington),brushing debris out of his hair. Davis
waited outside the restroom and confronted Clarin as he exited. Clarin tried to run away
but Davis grabbed Clarin and kept him from leaving the store. Davis was able to keep
control of Clarin until Officer John Winters arrived and arrested the suspect. Clarin was
charged with burglary and possession of burglary tools.
Following the arrest of Clarin, it was also discovered that a similar burglary was
committed at a Farmington restaurant. Farmington Police were able to develop enough
evidence to also charge Clarin with that burglary. Clarin already had an extensive history
of burglary offenses.
April 14, 1999—Bur l�ary at Cannon Eauinment
On April 14, 1999 at around 9 p.m., Mr. Sower(St. Paul)was working at Cannon
Equipment when several employees noticed an unfamiliar person in the business.
Employees searched the building to find the suspicious person. When he was located and
confronted about why he was in the building, he gave a vague answer and left the
building carrying a briefcase. While the other employees had searched for the person,
Mr. Sower had gone into the parking lot and found the person's vehicle. He quickly
wrote down the license plate even though a passenger in the vehicle confronted Sower. It
was later learned that the briefcase was actually a laptop computer that had been stolen
from an office. The license plate number that Sower obtained and gave to Officer Bill
O'Donnell provided us with information to track down the suspect.
Officer O'Donnell notified other police agencies of the method of the crime committed at
Cannon Equipment and the license plate number and vehicle description that Sower had
provided. Several police agencies in Hennepin, Ramsey and Washington Counties
responded that there had been similar burglaries in their communities with the same
vehicle and suspect description and method used to commit the crime. Using the
information obtained from the vehicle's registration,police were able to identify and
locate the suspect.
The suspect was arrested in Ramsey County after officers conducting surveillance on the
suspect witnessed him committing another theft. Following the arrest of the suspect and
his girlfriend/accomplice, a search of several locations resulted in the recovery of several
thousand dollars worth of computers and computer equipment.
Burglary charges have been filed agairist Brian Stefan Williams (Woodbury) and Linda
Marie Moore (Minneapolis).
�une 1. 1999—Residential BurglarX
On June 1, 1999, Mr. Douglas Meggitt(Rosemount)was at home around 11:30 a.m.
when he heard someone enter the house. Initially he was able to protect himself by
staying secluded in a room, but as the burglars came into the area of the house where he
was at Meggitt confronted them. The burglars immediately fled from the house.
Meggitt reacted quickly and called 9-1-1 to report the intruders. As the criminals drove
away he provided a description of their pickup and the direction they were traveling.
This information allowed officers responding to his call to identify and stop the suspects.
Officers John Sommers and Bill O'Donnell arrested the two suspects.
A number of burglaries had previously been committed in rural Dakota County in May
and were being investigated by the Dakota County Sheriff's office. The method and
vehicle used in those burglaries was the same as in the burglary reported by Mr. Meggitt.
Rosemount officers notified investigators at the Dakota County Sherif�s Office and
advised them of the arrests. Subsequently, searches were conducted at the suspects'
homes and other locations. Property stolen from numerous burglaries throughout the
metropolitan area, including the Dakota County burglaries,was recovered during the
searches.
Burglary charges have been filed against Edward Patrick Bane (Columbia Heights) and
Kevin Arthur Wiegele (St. Paul). Additional charges are pending in Dakota, Washington,
Chisago, and other counties.