All of the conduct described herein occurred within the County of St. Louis, State of Minnesota, unless otherwise noted. On September 5, 2025, at approximately 7:55 P.M., Lieutenant Tinsley responded to a theft call that occurred at Kohl's located at [ADDRESS REDACTED] in the City of Duluth, St. Louis County, Minnesota. An employee reported that she had her cell phone stolen while she was working and she used her iPad to check the phone location and found her phone to be pinging in the TJ Maxx parking lot.
The employee said her phone was taken sometime between 7:15 P.M. And 7:55 P.M. Off of the counter while she was helping a customer. Her phone was an iPhone 16 Pro Max, which has a retail value of $1,199. There was also a case and screen protector on the phone. Officers attempted to locate the phone that evening, but the location information had a short delay and they could not locate the phone. At 11:53 P.M., the phone's location was behind the residence of 416 North 11th Avenue West, Duluth, Minnesota.
Lieutenant Tinsley spent time researching that address and found that Leona Marie Sutherland, [DOB REDACTED], hereinafter Defendant was affiliated with the address. On September 8, 2025, Lieutenant Tinsley received a video from Kohl's Loss Prevention of the theft of the phone, and confirmed Defendant stole the phone from the Sephora department and then exited the store and got into a Chevrolet Impala. On September 9, 2025, Lieutenant Tinsley went to Defendant's residence and spoke with her. Lieutenant Tinsley said he believed that she had the phone.
Defendant said, "I don't have it anymore." Defendant said she took the phone from Kohls and that she could get it back. Defendant said she went to Kohls and saw the phone so she grabbed it and then left the store. She said she went to TJ Maxx after the theft. Defendant said she did not try to use the phone. She believed "Butchie" had the phone because he came over to her house and he paid $70 for the phone. The iPhone was subsequently recovered. Lietenant Tinsley met with the employee to return the phone.
The phone was plugged in to be charged and when it turned on, a loud alarm tone sounded with the display of a lost iPhone. The phone was unusable in this mode. Defendant would have heard this tone when the phone was activated. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: Pursuant to Minn. Stat. 609.49, intentional failure to appear for duly scheduled court appearances may result in additional criminal charges, and in addition to any arrest warrant that may otherwise be issued by the Court.
