On April 26, 2026, at approximately 3:00 P.M., police responded to a car accident at the intersection of Grotto Street and Minnehaha Avenue in St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota. JANEL DIANA TORRES – [DOB REDACTED] was driving a blue Hyundai Kona (MN LP 4BP942) and struck another vehicle when she failed to stop at a stop sign. On April 27, at approximately 10:30 A.M., police responded to a burglary call at [ADDRESS REDACTED]. The complainant, TJL, reported that she was watching the residence for her brother, who was out of state.
TJL advised that she was last at the residence on April 21, and the house was secure and undisturbed. When she returned on April 27, TJL found the house ransacked and burglarized. In addition, TJL and her brother, GWH, told police that a blue Hyundai Kona (MN LP 4BP942) was stolen from the garage. Police discovered that the vehicle was driven by TORRES the previous day and involved in a car accident. GWH reported that he is the only one who drives the vehicle, and he does not know TORRES. A pick up and hold was issued for TORRES, and she was taken into custody on June 3. Following a Miranda advisory, TORRES was informed that police were investigating a burglary and the vehicle she was driving at the time of the crash in April.
TORRES reported that a friend who she just met let her borrow the car. When asked if she knew the history of the car, TORRES said she asked if it was “hot”, and her friend told her it was not. TORRES said she did not know him well but needed the car to go to the store and did not think he was lying to her about the car being stolen. TORRES advised that she had the car for a couple of days then she got a phone call from her friend saying that he did not want the car back. TORRES acknowledged that was not normal but said she probably did not allow herself to think or question him about it.
The investigator told TORRES that the car was taken in the burglary and not reported stolen until after she crashed it. The investigator also explained the circumstances of the burglary. After telling TORRES about the burglary, she said she “semi” knew it. When asked, “Probably semi knew it?”, TORRES responded, “I did, okay probably, whatever.” TORRES told the investigator that she was going to drive it anyway because she needed to go to the store. When asked, “So you just said cool, I’ll just drive this stolen car around?”, TORRES responded, “Not like cool.
Consciously I didn’t think of it like that.” TORRES reported that she purposely put it out of her mind so she could continue with her addiction. TORRES told the investigator that she had been doing good and was on the right track then asked how she could go back to allowing herself to drive a stolen car or a car that might be stolen. TORRES said she was reckless and vulnerable. The following information is offered for purposes of Rule 6.02. TORRES has the following felony convictions: Motor Vehicle Theft (2024; 2017), Theft (2024), Possession of Burglary Tools (2024), Identity Theft (2024), Second Degree Burglary (2017), and Fifth Degree Drug Possession (2014; 2014; 2011).
