On January 31, 2026, at approximately 9:50 P.M., officers were dispatched to a residence located in Ravenna Township, Dakota County, Minnesota, based on a report of an unknown person in a detached garage without permission. The reporting party told dispatch that he could see his garage door opening and closing and that the person inside did not have permission to be there. When officers arrived at the residence, the doors to the garage were locked, so the homeowner provided them with a garage door opener.
When the door opened, deputies saw a male, later identified as ALEXANDER JOSEPH HERTOGS [DOB REDACTED], standing in the garage. Officers also observed gasoline on the floor of the garage. HERTOGS complied with commands to exit the garage, where he was detained and searched. During the search, officers located two glass pipes and a baggie with suspected drug residue in it. HERTOGS was placed in the back of a squad car and advised of his constitutional rights. HERTOGS stated that he had just run here because he believed he was being followed, but he did not know who was following him.
He entered the garage through the side door, which was unlocked. HERTOGS was convinced the people following him were going to hurt his father, who lived nearby. HERTOGS admitted that he took the gasoline from the garage and poured it on the ground. He stated that he had a lighter and was going to light it if the people following him tried to come in. HERTOGS also stated that he had opened the door to the vehicle in the garage to check for keys, because if the keys had been inside, he would have left in the vehicle.
HERTOGS stated that he had used methamphetamine that day. When deputies were photographing the garage, the homeowner stated that his blowtorch propane lighter had been turned on, which is not how he left it after last using it. The lighter was located on the sidewalk outside of the garage, and it was believed to have been removed from the garage by HERTOGS.
