St. Paul residents host meeting to address string of burglaries, robbery

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) - After months on edge, many St. Paul residents are feeling some relief after the arrest of man want for a string of burglaries.

Saturday afternoon a group of residents shared their concerns about the ordeal with some city officials,. But after the recent arrest of a man wanted for a string of burglaries, they are hopeful the nightmare is over.

St. Paul native Demarlo Dunn is accused of breaking into multiple homes in the Summit and University neighborhood this summer.

The 25-year-old, who suffers from mental illness, is known to have broken into some of the same homes more than once, and in some instances, he stayed for days.

“Each of those times he spent the night in the house,” said Allen Short, a St. Paul resident. “[He] slept on one of our beds, cooked food in the microwave.”

A week after Dunn’s arrest some feel terrified in their own homes.

Those in the community voiced their concerns to police and City Attorney Lyndsey Olson.

“I have to say, given what I heard today, and all of the break-ins that were on the record, I cannot believe that the county attorney didn’t find grounds for a felony charge before now. That bothered me,” Short said.

The felony charge means, unlike past run-ins, it will likely be some time before Dunn is released back into the community, but these residents are looking to city leaders for a permanent solution.

“We’re looking at holistically, how can we do better,” Olson said.

“He’s been convicted of having an illegal handgun in the past, that concerns me a lot. All we need is for him do one of these break-ins and somebody really gets hurt,” Short said.

Dunn is facing a charge of second degree burglary and he remains in police custody.

Residents are hoping to meet with city leaders again.