Published September 03, 2009 10:50 pm -
Suspects didn't think anything fleet of police cars when they pulled in for a bite to eat
Deputies: Please pass pilferers
Cops catch burglars at coffee break time
By Dan Nienaber
Free Press Staff Writer
MANKATO —
Two deputies who went to Happy Chef for a coffee break during a busy night of investigating burglaries got the added treat of having their suspects served up on a silver platter.
The Blue Earth County sheriff’s deputies likely needed some down time after responding to three residential burglaries that took place in a span of 90 minutes Wednesday night. All of the incidents took place within five miles of each other, but the residents lived in three different townships.
Investigators suspected the same individuals were responsible for all of the burglaries. Each of the residences were broken into in the same manner and similar items had been stolen.
When a final tally was compiled, items worth about $10,000 had been taken. The stolen goods included laptop computers, other electronics and jewelry.
At about 10:14 p.m. county dispatchers learned the crooks the deputies were looking for might have moved on to other counties. Le Sueur County authorities reported they were looking for a black Chevy pickup that had been involved in a burglary there.
They were asking law enforcement officers in the area to stop the vehicle, which contained three men and a woman, and hold the occupants for questioning.
The two Blue Earth County deputies, and several other deputies and police officers from the area, were taking their coffee break when the Le Sueur County report came through. As one of the deputies was jotting the information down, another officer noticed a truck matching the description pulling into the Happy Chef parking lot, Capt. Rich Murry of the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
The crew of cops — Murry estimates a half dozen at minimum — then went outside and determined, via license plate number, that the pickup was the one they were looking for.
Although items that had been stolen that night from homes in both Blue Earth County and Le Sueur County were still in the pickup, the three men and one woman inside apparently weren’t concerned about pulling up to a restaurant with a row of squad cars outside.
“It’s fair to say there was a good showing of law enforcement when they pulled into the parking lot,” Murry said.
Further investigation revealed the group were suspects in a theft at Minneopa State Park last week and a burglary in St. Clair Tuesday.
The four people arrested were all Mankato residents. They were: Randal Charles Burger Jr., 20; Zachary Donald Hanel, 20; Scott Allan Abbe, 19; and Mariah Skye Harrabi, 18, the report said.
It was a good thing the deputies took a break when they did, Murry added. Not just because their suspects fell into their laps, but because the bust also led to a busy night of follow-up work after the break.
“It’s an easy beginning to the case, but there’s a whole lot of work that goes into taking the reports,” Murry said. “It’s great that it ended the way it did, but they were busy afterwards.
“Actually, it shows those coffee breaks can be pretty productive, too.”
May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008