Police reports: Phantom burglars, gym peeper, more ...

A juvenile living in a home on Springbrook Plaza reported coming home Feb. 20 to find the front door unsecure and a masked burglar inside the home. Police, who reported finding no signs of forced entry or evidence of a burglary, interviewed the youth. The juvenile eventually admitted to concocting the story about the masked burglary after finding the door unlocked. The juvenile reported seeing something that might have been a shadow, which generated an idea that a burglar was present. The juvenile was motivated to stick to the story after being overwhelmed by the police response. The youth was not expecting the number of officers, or the fact that they would respond with long guns, the report states.

A worker at the Minnesota Workforce Center, 2150 Radio Drive, reported Feb. 21 that her cellphone was stolen. The worker left the phone on a counter in the women’s restroom. Shortly after, a woman, possibly going by the name of “Boobie,” approached the front desk, saying she had found a cellphone. Staff asked around, but no one reported a missing phone. The woman returned later, saying she had found the owner, so staff gave her the phone. On Feb. 25, the woman returned to the center, and police were summoned. Police spoke with the suspect, who reluctantly discussed the phone, though it was ultimately returned to its owner.

A Woodbury woman reported Feb. 22 that a man was watching her while she was in the locker room at Xperience Fitness, 1555 Queens Drive. Police made contact with the man, a cleaner at the gym, who admitted to being in the women’s locker room. He said he didn’t intend to invade the woman’s privacy and entered without realizing someone was inside at 1:47 a.m. A complaint was filed with gym management as well.

Police were called Feb. 23 to a Woodbury address for a disturbance report. A Woodbury woman reported she went to pick up a man she knew after he was kicked off a party bus in Minneapolis. The woman drove the man to St. Paul to drop him off at his car. The woman did this knowing the man’s probation prohibited him from having contact with her. While leaving, the woman backed into and damaged his car. When she confronted the man, she was jumped by another female. The woman then went to a Woodbury residence to find the man. She used the bathroom there, causing another argument that again led to the woman being pushed against a wall and then thrown out of the house by the male suspect. Police did not pursue domestic assault charges in the case.

A Woodbury man reported a burglary at his residence Feb. 23. The man reported items had been moved around in his apartment a day after having his front door locks changed because he suspected someone entered the unit. On Feb. 23, the man reported a pair of his shoes missing, along with a small amount of whiskey from a bottle that was unaccounted for. Convinced people enter the apartment, the man told police he places “little paper balls” in the door jambs, then finds them “mysteriously strewn about the apartment. He also reported a neighbor had been witnessed entering and leaving his unit, but couldn’t explain how. Police said no evidence of an actual crime was detected.

A Woodbury woman drove up to a parked officer on Feb. 24. She said her son was drunk and wanted to get him to Regions Hospital. Police said the man had signs of extreme intoxication and later admitted to drinking rubbing alcohol. The man’s blood-alcohol content registered at 0.058 after just placing the machine’s straw in his mouth. Woodbury ambulance took the man to Regions.

Police responded Feb. 24 to Walmart, 10240 Hudson Road, for a shoplifting report. A North St. Paul man was found shoplifting $10 worth of spark plugs. He was cited for theft.

Tags: crime and courts, news, crime