Officers were called to the report of several thefts from a self-storage facility in the City of Lakeville, County of Dakota, State of Minnesota. In total, five victims reported the locks to their units had been cut off or tampered with and items were now missing from their storage units. Officers received several recorded clips of the suspects in the incidents from facility management entering and exiting the facility between August 2, 2025, and August 7, 2025 in a Ford F-150. Officers obtained the rental records showing that the gate code used belonged to a renter with the initials W. M. Through related investigations, officers identified the two suspects on camera as THOMAS JOSEPH ANDERSON [DOB REDACTED] and Tyler Marie Spah.
Several of the video clips show ANDERSON driving the vehicle in and out of the facility as well as Spah entering the gate on foot on one occasion. ANDERSON and Spah were known to law enforcement as they had been alleged to have committed similar burglaries of storage facilities between July 2, 2025, and October 1, 2025, in both Inver Grove Heights and Eagan using the same Ford F-150. ANDERSON has been charged previously for his role in those incidents in Court File Numbers 19HA-CR-25-1791 and 19HA-CR-25-1982. During this investigation, officers learned that ANDERSON had pawned several items that were similar to those items taken during the burglaries, specifically some golf clubs.
Officers obtained the clubs and provided them back to the victim, [NAME REDACTED] had been taken from his storage unit. Officers also obtained cell tower data from Spah’s cell phone showing that her phone connected to the cell tower closest to the storage facility each time W. M.’s gate code was used to enter and exit the facility between August 2 and August 7. Officers also spoke to two witnesses who confirmed that ANDERSON and Spah had been breaking into storage units in Lakeville and had offered to let the witnesses keep some of the items taken if the witnesses came along.
On October 9, 2025, officers located ANDERSON and Spah at a hotel in Maplewood and placed them under arrest. While taking ANDERSON and Spah into custody, officers located the Ford F-150 seen on surveillance video at the storage facility. Officers also obtained Spah’s cell phone and executed a search warrant on that device. On Spah’s phone, officers located a photograph taken inside a storage unit of a state-issued ID, which was created on August 2 at the storage facility in Lakeville. Officers also located a text message from Spah on August 6 at approximately 9:21 P.M. Stating “we got a HUGE nice ass tv in 3 19HA-CR-26-149 Filed in District Court State of Minnesota 1/28/2026 the wrapping still.” The video clips provided to officers show the Ford F-150 leaving the storage facility around 9:00 P.M. On August 6 with a large television in the truck’s bed.
