Crime & Safety
Burglars Steal $9,000 in Electronics, Clothing From SLP Home
Couple returned home to find house trashed.
Tuesday afternoon likely started off like any other for a St. Louis Park couple living on the 1600 block of Hampshire Avenue.
At 2 p.m. on Jan. 29, they left home to run a few errands. At 6:20 p.m., the husband and wife came home—and walked into a crime scene.
Their living room television had disappeared, and the family dog was nowhere to be found.
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As the couple cautiously walked through the house, they discovered the burglars had made off with more than a 54-inch flat screen TV: a second such TV was missing from the house, along with a set of four hand-painted rims from the garage, two mink coats from the master bedroom closet, and two gaming consoles and a laptop had vanished from the living room. Altogether, almost $9,000 in items had been stolen. The family dog was eventually located, shut up in the spare bedroom and cowering under a bed.
St. Louis Park police inspecting the house couldn't find any signs of forced entry, but found three sets of fresh footprints in the snow leading from a rear door to the alleyway. While conducting their search, police also found the remains of a few marijuana cigarettes in ashtrays around the house.
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The husband admitted he smoked marijuana recreationally, but adamantly denied the break-in could have had anything to do with drugs. Because of the burglar's precision—the coats were hidden in a closet and two other flat-screen TVs were left alone—police and the homeowners suspect the burglar has been in the house before.
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