After eluding law enforcement at least three other times, two teenage boys with prior criminal acts have been arrested and charged with pulling off more than 30 crimes in Edina just this year.
The tally from Jan. 3 to March 6, according to police:
- Nine stolen vehicles
- Four burglaries
- 16 thefts from or tampering with vehicles
- Fleeing law enforcement on three occasions
Most of the crimes occurred from January to early March, but the 17-year-olds also are suspects in a vehicle theft last spring, police said Thursday night.
One of the teenagers was given a winter holiday pass from a northern Minnesota detention facility to travel to the Twin Cities and did not return as scheduled, court records showed.
Both were charged this week in Hennepin County District Court with felonies and remained in custody as of Friday afternoon, the County Attorney’s Office said. The Minnesota Star Tribune generally does not identify juvenile criminal defendants.
One teenager, from north Minneapolis, is charged with two counts each of auto theft and receiving stolen property. He is due back in court on April 9.
His accomplice, from south Minneapolis, is charged with illegal gun or ammunition possession and aiding an offender after the fact. His next court date is March 26.
In the wake of the arrests, Edina police reminded the public to “make sure to lock your vehicle doors and take the keys with you, don’t leave valuables and garage door openers in your vehicle, and lock all of your house doors.”
