Man charged in Christmas Day rampage through Vadnais Heights motor sports dealership

A man is charged with felony burglary in connection with riding a stolen ATV through a Vadnais Heights motorsports store on Christmas Day, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.

Authorities charged Austin Erickson, 30, with second-degree burglary and property damage for breaking into Tousley Motorsports on Christmas morning and causing nearly $500,000 in damage to merchandise and the store's interior.

According to charging documents, Ramsey County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a glass break alarm at Tousley Motorsports around 6:22 a.m. on Monday. A security camera captured Erickson inside wearing a Tousley jacket, khakis, red shoes and a red helmet. He was driving a purple ATV stolen from inside the store and crashing it into merchandise and store fixtures. He allegedly drove that ATV toward a deputy on the scene and through a gate before fleeing westbound. He was captured in a wooded area later.

In an interview with officials, Erickson said he contacted a high school friend and met them at Tousley Motorsports. They used drugs and climbed a fence before Erickson broke into the store with a trailer hitch. The friend allegedly watched from outside as Erickson relayed information to him. Erickson said that his friend talked him into the burglary and thefts, but a Ramsey County Attorney's Office spokesperson could not comment whether that friend would be arrested or charged.

Erickson is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 22.

In a statement, Tousley Motorsports President David Glassman said an investigator told him Erickson's bail was lowered from $200,000 to $500 cash.

"To say we are shocked is an understatement," Glassman's statement read. "Had he been properly prosecuted for his past crimes, he wouldn't have been able to commit the multiple felonies on Christmas which were all eyewitnessed by our surveillance cameras and law enforcement on site.."

Besides two drug possession convictions in 2017, Erickson was charged in three incidents in Ramsey County in February.

In the first incident, Erickson was charged with second-degree assault and illegal possession of a firearm for allegedly pointing a gun at his ex-girlfriend on Feb. 6. The woman told police that they had agreed to sell their former house, but Erickson threatened to break the windows and lock her out before a housing inspection scheduled for later that day. She said Erickson refused to let her in and pointed a gun at her when she tried entering the home.

He was arrested on charges of being ineligible to possess a firearm because of two prior drug possession convictions, and later pleaded guilty to violating a no-contact order filed by his ex-girlfriend. He told authorities that he was struggling with substance abuse again, and had been unable to see his son since October 2022.

He also told police he would have fired his gun if she would have forced her way inside.

In the second incident, dated Feb. 9, Erickson was charged with threats of violence after telling a friend three times that he would kill the woman. Police arrested Erickson later that night when he called authorities to help him move his property. He allegedly made more threats to her while in the back of a squad car, and threatened to kill their dog before buying a puppy to kill.

Charging documents say he was conditionally released after his Feb. 8 arraignment, despite prosecutors' objections. He called the same friend days later from jail saying, "I should have pulled that [expletive] trigger."

In the third incident, Erickson was charged with theft of a motor vehicle after authorities recorded him driving a Kia into the Rosedale Mall parking lot on Feb. 28. A woman later identified as Erickson's girlfriend told police that the Kia was her uncle's, but police found out it was stolen from Worth County, Iowa, in early January.

Erickson changed his clothes when learning of his girlfriend's arrest, and was arrested shortly after leaving the mall. He told authorities the car was borrowed from his girlfriend's relative, but had no answer when asked why he changed his clothes before walking back toward the Kia.

A hearing for those three incidents is scheduled for Jan. 19.