Roseville, Minnetonka police trying to determine whether assaults are connected

Police in two Twin Cities suburbs are working together to determine whether the same man is responsible for several incidents of groping and assaulting females in recent weeks.

Roseville Deputy Police Chief Joe Adams said the man groped juvenile and adult females at two retail locations on Aug. 20 before he got in a white Toyota sedan and left.

Roseville police have yet to disclose details about the incidents, including how many have been reported and where they occurred. Also, no specific description has been released of the man they hope to apprehend.

Adams added that police believe "this suspect may have engaged in additional crimes throughout the metro."

The deputy chief did not say which communities also may have incidents tied to this suspect, but Minnetonka police spokesman Andrew Wittenborg said Tuesday that his department "has been in contact with Roseville police, and we have exchanged information."

Wittenborg said there were two assaults on Aug. 20 that Minnetonka police are looking at as possibly connected to the incidents in Roseville. According to a police statement and records:

The first encounter occurred in the 15100 block of Wayzata Boulevard near Carlson Parkway, where a woman reported being approached by a man in the driveway of her home shortly before 6 a.m.

She said the man, who smelled of alcohol, grabbed her around the neck, pointed a handgun at her and threatened to kill her if she didn't go back in the house. He fled after the woman told him her husband was in the house.

About two hours later, a similar confrontation took place about 3½ miles to the south on the Lake Minnetonka LRT Regional Trail near the 12000 block of Minnetonka Boulevard, where a man grabbed a woman by the shoulder and exposed himself.

"In both cases, multiple police agencies conducted an extensive search of the area on foot and from the air," a Minnetonka police statement read.

Both women reported being confronted by a middle-age Black man, dressed in a black top and sweatpants. In both cases, his face was partly covered with a blue mask. The victim in the first incident reported the man was wearing eyeglasses.

Photos of the potential suspect that were released by Roseville police also show him to be a Black man wearing a blue mask and eyeglasses.

Roseville police said they are receiving tips about their cases at 651-792-7268 and by email at brady.martin@cityofroseville.com. Minnetonka police can be reached at 952-939-8500.