Close one in Rochester - updated

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Man arrested with stolen car, stolen gun, Halloween mask
8/23/2007 10:47:20 AM

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

Officers arrested a man Wednesday in a local store parking lot after discovering he was sitting in a stolen vehicle with a loaded stolen handgun, Halloween mask, latex gloves and plastic handcuffs.

The 37-year-old St. Paul man had caught the attention of members of the Southeast Drug Task Force at 8:30 p.m. while he was parked in the Wal-Mart north parking lot, according to Rochester Police Lt. Dan Muyres. The officers noticed the man was acting suspicious, wearing latex gloves and fooling around with plastic zip-tie handcuffs. The suspect then got out of the vehicle and began checking under the hood.

Muyres said the man noticed the people in a nearby car watching him and drove to another spot in the parking lot. He took something out of the car and dumped it in a trash bin. He then went inside the store.

In the meantime, narcotics officers had called dispatch to request uniformed officer. Officers searched the trash bin and found that the man had thrown away a bag with .38 ammunition with five bullets missing. They also discovered the vehicle that the man was in was reported stolen from St. Paul Tuesday night. A loaded, stolen handgun was found under one of the car seats. Also found were a Halloween mask, duct tape, plastic handcuffs and latex gloves. Officers went in to the store and arrested the man.

Muyres said the man was arrested recently for a similar incident in Cannon Falls. He could face charges of possession of a stolen vehicle and stolen gun.

[JDR]

WOW. That perk was up to some big time, no good

Glad he is off the streets (but for how long?).

[someone1980]

Just a couple blocks from where I live.

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Man charged with receiving stolen property
8/24/2007 7:09:19 PM

By Janice Gregorson

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

Unconditional bail has been set at $150,000 for a St. Paul man arrested Thursday evening after authorities said he caught their attention with his suspicious behavior.

Members of the S.E. Minnesota Narcotics Task Force were in the parking lot of Wal-Mart North on Thursday, watching someone they said was concealing something under the hood of the car and looked "very nervous."

According to the criminal complaint filed against Loc Dinh Phan, 37, the man noticed that he was being watched and went to the front of the store and dumped something into the trash. The task-force officers called for uniformed officers, and in the meantime secured the garbage and stood by the store entrance until the officer arrived.

The suspect was identified as Phan. The complaint said the items thrown away were latex gloves and a box of .38-caliber ammunition with five rounds missing. The vehicle he had been driving had been reported stolen in St. Paul the previous night. A stolen Taurus .38-caliber pistol was found hidden inside the air cleaner in a plastic bag with more latex gloves.

Now, Phan is charged with two counts of receiving stolen property, both felonies, and with being a convicted felon in possession of a pistol or assault weapon.

While Phan lists a St. Paul address, he is no stranger to Rochester. In 1991, he was sentenced to 81 months in prison for being one of five men involved in a violent robbery of Truong Plaza 18 months earlier. In that case, the suspects went into the store carrying guns and knives, tied up two owners and four customers with electrical cords and adhesive tape, and stole jewelry with a retail value of $300,000. At the time he was sentenced, Phan already was serving a 56-month prison term on a conviction in Hennepin County.

The criminal complaint notes that Phan currently has three pending arrest warrants from Ramsey County. And on June 20 he was arrested in Cannon Falls, where officials found a handgun wrapped in plastic secured to the wheel well of a van. He pleaded guilty on Aug. 13 to illegally being in possession of a weapon and was sentenced the same day, put on probation for five years and given credit for 60 days served in jail.

His next hearing in Olmsted County is Sept. 6.