Powderhorn Crime watch

by DENNIS GEISINGER

Violent crime in the 3rd Precinct spiked over a significant period in May, driven by an increase in the number of robberies, rapes and aggravated assaults, yet remained at a lower rate compared to the same period last year. Minneapolis’ 3rd Precinct comprises Southside neighborhoods that lie between 35W and the river, south of the University of Minnesota.

Criminals wielding weapons was a common theme of the violent incidents that drove up crime rates on the Southside last month. Standout among these were two robberies at two bus stops by two assailants with two shotguns on the same day. According to police reports, on May 11 at 4:36 a.m. on the corner of East 40th Street and Chicago Avenue, a man waiting for the bus on his way to work was engaged in conversation by one suspect while another suspect came out of the bushes with a sawed-off shotgun.

“You know what to do. Give me everything you got,” the man with the gun is reported to have told his victim. The suspect pressed the gun to the man’s chest and started going through his pockets, taking a new cell phone, a wallet and $40 worth of bus passes. The victim was then ordered to leave the scene.

That same day at 10:03 p.m. on the corner of East 41st Street and Chicago Avenue, another man was waiting at a bus stop when he was approached by a suspect fitting the description of the one involved in the earlier robbery. The suspect asked for the time and then went to look at the bus schedule while the second suspect approached holding a full-length shotgun. The man’s wallet and cell phone were taken and the robbers were attempting to get his backpack when they were interrupted by an oncoming cab and then fled the area. The two suspects, reported to be between the ages of 18 and 25, are still being sought by police.

During the first week of May, police officers arrested a juvenile who had fled on a bus with accomplices after they had allegedly committed armed robbery. One gun and two knives were recovered. After shots were fired in the very early morning hours around the 3500 block of 22nd Avenue South, officers found .45 caliber casings and later took a report of a car with bullet damage at 36th Street and 18th Avenue South. One juvenile was identified as being associated with the Bloods gang after making an assault at East 33rd Street and 5th Avenue South, and a suspect who had burglarized a church was apprehended by a K9 team after fleeing the scene on the 3000 block of 13th Avenue South.

The second week of the month saw another male taken to HCMC with non-life-threatening wounds after a shooting reported at the 5700 block of 34th Avenue South, while another two were shot inside a car at the SuperAmerica at 4700 Cedar Avenue South. Both of those in the car were able to provide stories to police even though one reportedly had a bullet near his heart. During another incident, a 16-year-old was shot by suspected gang members who allegedly live nearby 41st Street and 28th Avenue South.

During week three, reports were made of a white or cream-colored Chevy Corsica that had been in involved in shots fired around the 2900 block of Chicago Avenue South and also in another Powderhorn Park shooting incident. Two victims sustained serious stab injuries after being assaulted and robbed by a suspect on a bike during incidents occurring at 28th and Pillsbury, the 30 block of W. Lake Street and at 24th and Blaisdell Avenue South. A suspect reportedly associated with a Somali gang committed a robbery at 22nd and Chicago Avenue East, and a stalker identified as Robert Edward Peters admitted his behavior to police after exposing himself to a South High student. The school liaison officer set up surveillance and apprehended Peters, who was charged with a gross misdemeanor.