High-end break-ins: How thieves targeted 4 homes in the east metro

A search warrant filed this week in Dakota County details four similar break-ins at high-end homes in the east metro that police believe are connected.

East metro break-ins

What we know:

The search warrant filed by Inver Grove Heights police this week seeks cell phone data, hoping to link a single device to four separate crime scenes.

Police believe the crooks are carrying cell phones to communicate with lookouts during the crimes.

Break-in details

Case #1

  • Date and Time: Sept. 26, around 9:05 p.m.
  • Details: Police responded to a home alarm on Adam Avenue in Inver Grove Heights and found a second-level patio door smashed and the home ransacked. The search warrant states approximately $75,000 in jewelry and cash was taken from the master bedroom closet. Motion sensors indicated activity inside the home between 9:01 p.m. and 9:05 p.m.
  • Property records estimate the home's value at $1.1 million.

Case #2

  • Date and Time: Discovered Sept. 30, around 1:45 p.m. (likely occurred between Sept. 27 and 29)
  • Details: A homeowner who was away asked a friend to check on the home along Salem Church Road in Sunfish Lake. The friend found a second-level window smashed and jewelry stolen. The value of the stolen items was not disclosed.
  • Property records estimate the home's value at $2.6 million.

Case #3

  • Date and Time: Oct. 24, around 10:33 p.m.
  • Details: Burglars smashed a second-level patio door of a home on Alger Court in Inver Grove Heights while the homeowner was attending a funeral. Upon returning, the owner found the house ransacked, with $35,000 in jewelry missing. Suspect(s) reportedly accessed the property through a wooded area, leaving behind burrs inside the home.
  • The home's value is estimated at $882,000.

Case #4

  • Date and Time: Oct. 26, around 10:05 p.m.
  • Details: Burglars entered through a Sunfish Lane home in Sunfish Lake by smashing the second-level rear window, stealing $42,000 in cash from a safe and additional jewelry from a bathroom. Burrs found at the scene suggest the suspect(s) may have used a wooded area.
  • The home's value is estimated at $3.6 million.

The common link between burglaries

What they're saying:

In the search warrant, police say it appears the break-ins were committed by the same people.

The filing states: "The location of all four residences were in a wealthy neighborhood that backed up to a wooded area on the backside of the property. Several of the homes had burrs deposited inside the home from the suspects being in a wooded area. One of the homes had direct video of the front driveway which showed nobody approached the front of the residence. The entry method for all burglaries was from the back of the residence, on the second level by breaking out an exterior glass window or door. In all four burglaries only jewelry or current was taken and all other valuable were ignored."

The warrant adds: "[Investigators are] aware of ‘high end’ burglaries being a trend that is being committed within the metro area at an increasingly frequent rate. These burglaries are being committed by targeting wealthy residences and conducting surveillance on the residence prior to the commission of the crime."

Police also noted that the break-ins seemed to occur in sets – two in late September and two in late October.

Local perspective:

In mid-November, the Sunfish Lake mayor issued a notice about the break-ins, warning residents to be vigilant around their property.

"Especially the wooded areas since it is believed the burglars are accessing the property from surrounding woods and call the police with any suspicious activity," the notice reads.

High-end homes targeted metrowide

The backstory:

FOX 9 has reported on a number of high-end burglaries across the metro in the past year. Back in February, a Medina homeowner told FOX 9 thieves targeted her house and made off with a safe and $1 million in jewelry.

In September, another set of search warrants referenced more than 60 break-ins, including the home of Minnesota Timberwolves player Mike Conley.

Crime and Public SafetyInver Grove HeightsSunfish Lake