Stephen Richard Carey

On February 27, 2026, officers were contacted by a business in Lakeville, Dakota County, Minnesota, on report of a past-action damage to property incident. One of the employees from the business originally wanted to apprise officers of a possible theft involving the same individual as the damage to property suspect. The employee explained that a storage unit at the business was considered abandoned and the business listed the contents in the storage unit for auction. The winning bidder was STEPHEN RICHARD CAREY [DOB REDACTED]. CAREY was informed that the contents he won did not include any “vehicles” that may be inside the unit at the time of purchase.

The employee stated that the paperwork CAREY signed clearly indicated that, and CAREY was also verbally told that in person. Nonetheless, CAREY removed the four-wheeler and moped that were inside the unit. An employee explained that on February 12, 2026, CAREY was inside the business passed normal operating hours. CAREY was informed by staff at the business that the business closed at 9 PM. CAREY was given a special code to get in and out of the business through the business’s locked gate on the day he was cleaning the unit out.

CAREY was informed that the code would only work until 9 PM that day. Surveillance footage from the business was provided to law enforcement and showed the following: The surveillance footage captures the locked exit gate at the business At approximately 9:09 PM on February 12, 2026, CAREY is seen inside the business heading toward the exit gate. He on foot and is pulling a moped toward the exit gate. CAREY is seen entering a code and the gate opens by lifting upwards. CAREY pulls the moped outside the gated area of the business and leaves it just outside the business’s gated area.

CAREY reenters the gated area and the gate closes. A few minutes later, CAREY drives a truck back toward the gate. His truck is pulling a four-wheeler by a rope. CAREY exits his vehicle and attempts to enter a code to exit through the locked gate again. The gate does not open. CAREY is seen attempting to try to enter a code again. CAREY eventually tries to physically open the gate and is unsuccessful. 2 19HA-CR-26-366 Filed in District Court State of Minnesota 3/13/2026 At approximately 9:23, CAREY gets back in his truck and then drives it back inside the business premises, out of sight of the camera.

At approximately 9:28, CAREY’s truck re-appears in the video and CAREY begins to back up/reverse the truck towards the gate. CAREY is seen getting out of his truck and hooking a rope to the locked gate. He gets back into his truck and drives the truck forward, pulling the gate open. The gate generally opens by lifting up. However, CAREY opened the gate by pulling it inward into the gated area of the premises of the business. At approximately 9:34, CAREY hooks up four-wheeler back up to the truck and exits out the gated area of the premises.