Authorities Arrest Woman Linked to SLP Thefts

A Minneapolis woman being sought on theft charges in four Minnesota counties—and whom police say confessed to thefts in Apple Valley, St. Louis Park, Burnsville and Minnetonka, among other cities—was arrested Tuesday in Washington County.

Antenese Scottesia Baker, 19, is charged in Dakota County with felony theft, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. 

She remains in the Dakota County Jail on a $10,000 bond. She is also being held on warrants from Hennepin, Kandiyohi and Pine counties.

According to the criminal complaint, filed in August, loss prevention employees at a store in Apple Valley contacted police last spring and reported that four women had stolen seven cell phones, valued at $1,209, on March 22.

Employees looked at surveillance video and saw one woman take the phones, while the other three acted as lookouts, according to the complaint. One of the women was identified as Baker.

The store’s loss prevention employees spoke to Baker, who admitted stealing phones in Apple Valley and reselling them to another woman, whom she said sells the stolen phones from a store in Minneapolis, according to the complaint.

Baker admitted that she used her car when she committed “numerous thefts” in Apple Valley, St. Louis Park, Burnsville, Woodbury, Monticello, Brooklyn Center and Minnetonka, the complaint says.

Baker was released on bond on Sept. 17. A warrant for her arrest was issued shortly afterward.

Her criminal history includes convictions for theft in August and October.

Though the name of the store is not mentioned in the Dakota County complaint, the terms of Baker’s bond prohibit her from entering Target or Best Buy stores.

Baker is scheduled to make a first appearance on the Dakota County charge Oct. 3 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.