A male grabbed an 87 year old woman from behind and threw her on the ground. He then drove off in her Honda Civic. The carjacking happened on a sunny June afternoon outside the Maplewood doctor’s offices. People rushed to the victim after the incident.
The stolen Honda was found parked the next day on a St. Paul road. The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office Carjacking & Auto Theft Team conducted surveillance using a drone and CAT members in unmarked cars were near.
The CAT team blocked in the stolen Honda when the 16-year old suspect and his younger brother entered it. They couldn’t leave. The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged the 16-year-old suspect with first degree aggravated theft in the carjacking. His case is still ongoing.
Here’s drone video of that arrest:
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher stated that “what makes this team so successful is that they are able to work real-time, and they don’t need to deal with a long waiting list” of calls for help from law enforcement. The investigators are dedicated to responding to carjackings, auto thefts, and attempting to solve them.
Fletcher, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi, and other officials in St. Paul said that the decline in auto thefts and carjackings this year is a good sign. They announced on Thursday that they have received additional funding from the state to continue their work.
The Ramsey County Youth Auto Theft Intervention Project started in 2021. In a statement released on Thursday, the goal is to “interrupt auto thefts and vehicle jackings before it happens, hold offenders responsible, and help youth involved in these crimes connect with services that will keep them from reoffending.”
St. Paul sees a drop in auto thefts and carjackings
Thomas Segelstrom is a deputy sheriff investigator in the CAT team. He said that this work is crucial because “a car is not only a vehicle.”
He said that people use it to take their children to school or their parents to doctors’ appointments. The thieves, he added, “not only destroy people’s properties, but they also wreck everything they come across when they crash.”
According to the police department, there were 73 carjackings reported in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2020. There were 101 in 2021, and 53 in 2018. 17 carjackings have been reported this year compared with 37 this time last. This is the lowest number of incidents since 2020.
In St. Paul, the number of auto thefts was 3,236 last year. This is up by 21 percent from 2021. They’ve actually been on the decline this year. The number of auto thefts has decreased by 31 percent compared to the same period last year. Fletcher stated that arresting those responsible for auto thefts and carjackings has been the most important step.
He said that this was the only way to stop career criminals, including juveniles who steal cars every day or week. “It’s not just to punish them, but also help them receive services that could change the course of their lives, such as addiction and mental-health help.”
Minneapolis city data shows that carjackings have decreased by 46 percent since last year while auto theft has increased 69 percent.
Law Enforcement Approach
The sheriff’s carjacking and auto theft unit was created as a way to respond to carjackings in Ramsey County. The team recovered more than 350 stolen cars worth more than $6,000,000 during the initial two-year grant.
Deputy Joe Kill said that approximately half of all auto thefts dealt with by the CAT unit involve juvenile suspects, and the remainder is usually committed by adults who are part of more organized theft rings.
Segelstrom explained that for juveniles it could be a joyride, a way to earn bragging rights, or a way to see what they can get by with. Segelstrom said that they are looking for vehicles left running with keys in them. This is to remind people to lock their cars.
Fletcher explained that “the stolen vehicle is ultimately a tool used to commit other crimes.”
Segelstrom explained that law enforcement officers see so many stolen cars speeding off before they are able to stop them, and the CAT team has found it effective to use the element or surprise by boxing stolen vehicles in with their unmarked squads.
Segelstrom stated, “We would much prefer a dent on our bumpers to a high-speed pursuit.” “If possible, we will stop the car before it gets moving.”
Theft of Kias or Hyundais has been a major problem. Last year, 30 percent of vehicles stolen in St. Paul were of these models. According to law enforcement, people have been able break into these vehicles and start them quickly and easily without keys.
Last Friday, a teenager who works at Conny’s Creamy Cone in Dale Street reported that his Hyundai was stolen from the parking area. The teen remembered Thursday that a customer had come up to the storefront and said, “Someone just stole someone’s car.” It turned out to have been his.
The CAT unit took the case up quickly. The teen was worried about theft so he left Apple Air Tags inside the car. Using one of the tags’ GPS signals, the team tracked the vehicle within an hour to Minneapolis, according to Deputy Joe Miller. The suspects dumped the vehicle.
The car was damaged during the theft. He said that he is responsible for the damage. He had to get rides from others.
Community navigators
The fear of arrest is not an effective way to deter young people. “With an enormous gap in connecting them to social services, to get the help they need,” said Deputy Kyle Williams, the project has also a community-based approach.
Tyrone Terrill supervises navigators. “Community Navigators” contact families of youths when they are identified as having been involved in carjacking, auto-theft or other crimes.
He said that early intervention was often the key. If you wait until the kids steal five, six or seven cars, they will become more prolific. We can’t abandon the kids who are struggling. They need our help.”
Terrill explained that intervention includes ensuring young people go to school, are learning skills to be job-ready, and have connections to work and mentoring. Three navigators are assigned 15 to 20 cases, ranging in age from 12 to 17.
Choi stated that the different approaches “provide a balanced and increasing effective” way to “address the often complex needs” of those who engage in risky behaviors.
The Ramsey County Board of Commissioners has approved a new grant from the Minnesota Department of Commerce Auto Theft Prevention Program. The grant will last until June 2025.
According to the county’s attorney’s office, the Commerce Department has provided grant funding for the project for the past two years of about $1.1million, and for the next two-years, it will be $1.4million.
The funding will enable the hiring of additional staff, such as a prosecutor focusing on auto thefts by youth and a mental-health case manager to assist families and youth who are involved in auto thefts and other related offenses. The sheriff’s CAT team will have more investigators and analysts, as well as increased funding for community navigators.