Increase in reported rapes concerns police, community

BY DENNIS GEISINGER

Car break-ins and burglaries marked the beginning of spring in the Minneapolis Police 3rd Precinct.

According to City crime reports, between March 5 and 23, there were 25 reported cases of car windows being smashed in the area between 2nd Ave. S. to Hiawatha, and E. Lake St. to E. 42nd St. The damage occurred during the nighttime hours.

“I heard from too many that did not file a report when they could easily have done so with 311,” said 3rd Precinct Crime Prevention Specialist, Karen Notsch. “I also heard from neighbors that heard breaking glass but didn’t think anything of it until they saw the damage the next day. Some thought it was just recycling,” Notsch said.

Since March 1, there has also been a rash of thefts from damage to motor vehicles in the Midtown Phillips, Epic, Phillips West and Ventura Village Neighborhoods. Police say they have little or no suspect information in either round of break-ins, and, although there have been plans for some weeks to increase police presence south of Lake Street, they are short by two beat officers who are currently working on a long term investigation.

“What we will be doing is having the Chicago/Lake beat officers spend some time in the area as well as the beat officer who has Central, particularly the area around 32nd and 5th,” said 3rd Precinct Lt. Wesley Ostlund. “In the future, Officers Oakerburg and Primozich will have 38th and Chicago along with 32nd and 5th and surrounding area. Their duties are to get to know the business people and others in the area and do enforcement work, have a visible presence,” Ostlund said.

There will be a number of opportunities to meet city police beat and probation officers, law enforcement and safety center staff, and city and county attorneys who actively work in the Southside neighborhoods during April open houses to be held at area safety centers. Two dates are set aside for meet-and-greet events at the Midtown Safety Center, 2949 Chicago Ave., April 16 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and April 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. The Franklin Safety Center, 1201 E. Franklin, will host open houses on Apr. 10 from 5 to 7 p.m. and Apr. 21 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
A review of police records for the months of January and February show that the Corcoran Neighborhood experienced a significant increase in the number of thefts. The thefts involved property taken from cars, lockers, backpacks and purses. To date, no pattern is apparent, nor is there any suspect information available.

A man suspected in several “smash ’n’ grab” business burglaries was arrested the night of March 12, after police responded to a silent alarm at a convenience store on the 1800 block of East Lake Street. Thirty-eight-year-old Eric Benjamin Colon of Minneapolis was caught after the officer arriving on the scene witnessed him crawling out of a window and then pursued him as he ran, dropping cartons of cigarettes along the way. Colon was charged the next day with burglary and auto theft in Hennepin County District Court. Security cameras allegedly captured Colon using bricks to break windows of Field and Northrop businesses, taking a stereo from Latin Essence and $250 cash from Michael’s Cafe and Wine Bar on March 7, and stealing an undisclosed amount of money from Sovereign Grounds Coffee on March 9.

Police are still looking for another serial criminal, a man who has come to be known as the “South Side Robber,” who has held up two Wells Fargo Bank branches, including one at 4712 Chicago Ave. on March 6 in which he passed a teller a note demanding money and got away with $13,000. No weapon was seen. The suspect is described as a white male, 20 to 30 years of age, 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet tall, light build, light complexion, with wavy, short brown hair and sideburns. He wore a dark baseball hat, striped shirt and black, Adidas pants. During another robbery, he was videotaped wearing a hooded sweatshirt with a Guinness beer logo. He is said to also be responsible for a hold-up at the Walgreens at 45th and Chicago on Jan. 12 along with several other store robberies in the metro, including a Lunds grocery store in Edina, and two SuperAmerica gas stations.

During the third week of March, police responding to a burglary in progress of an occupied residence on the 2900 block of 26th Avenue South, stopped a man walking away from the address and found that he had a laptop in his bag that had been stolen from inside. Arrested for burglary, he was identified not only by the people who had made the call, but also by victims at another residence who had reported a burglary that had taken place while they were home the week before.
Three suspects were arrested after they broke into a home on the 3000 block of Chicago Avenue South and robbed its occupants at gunpoint. Stolen items were recovered from the suspects’ car when it was identified and pulled over in the area.

A robbery that began at the Hiawatha/Lake Street Light Rail Station involved a forced abduction by car, an interrogation concerning a cell phone that began at one address and continued to another and finally, an assault by a group of juvenile females.

The Police K9 Division assisted 3rd Precinct officers in the location and apprehension of suspects involved in a double stabbing in the 2700 block of Portland Avenue South and an armed robbery on the 2800 block of 17th Avenue South.

Despite these crimes, total property crimes reported citywide decreased by almost 15 percent from March 2007. Violent crime is also continuing its downward trend in Minneapolis in all categories except rape. At the March 24 meeting of the 3rd Precinct Advisory Council, an open forum for crime and public safety issues, 3rd Precinct Commander Lucy Gerold said there is still a lot of concern about the 26 percent increase in rapes since this time last year. According to Gerold, the only common thread in these reports is that many are acquaintance related and often drugs and alcohol are involved. Family rape is also included in this category.
Gerold said that the precinct will work with input from the City’s Sexual Violence Center in North Minneapolis, initially to see in what way increased reporting of sexual crimes affects the overall picture.