Phillip Daniel Brooks

On March 19, 2026, at about 8:10 A.M., Officer Kolling of the Faribault Police Department was approached by an Xcel Energy employee when he was at North Alexander Park, Faribault, Rice County. The employee said the fence at the Xcel Energy substation (602 290th Street NW, Faribault) had been cut. The employee said a roll of wire was missing from the substation. He said someone saw a male rolling the wire. The employee said they tried to locate the male. Officer Kolling arrived at the location to speak to the Xcel Energy employees.

The employees could hear banging in the area. They believed that the suspects were hiding in the bushes. Officer Kolling noted that there was extremely dense fog and visibility was less than 50 feet. Officer Kolling drove to the area and saw movement from individuals between a tree and building. The officer activated his emergency lights. He saw a male running north towards the Fairgrounds. The officer yelled to the male, "Stop. Police." The male did not stop. The second male remained at the scene.

The officer could see a large spool of wire where the males had been standing. The male at the scene was identified as PHILLIP DANIEL BROOKS, [DOB REDACTED]. BROOKS was detained. BROOKS said he found the spool in the dumpster and had not been inside the fence. BROOKS said he did not know the other male who had run. Officer later located shoeprints in the snow by the hole in the fence. The shoeprints appeared BROOKS's shoeprints. Faribault Police Officers located the second male hiding behind a cooling system nearby and pursued him to the grandstand of Bruce Smith Football field at the Fairgrounds.

The male was running from the officers and did not comply with an officer's commands, such as stop and get on the ground. The officers were able to apprehend and detain the male. The male was identified as DAESHAWN OCTAVIUS MCBETH, [DOB REDACTED]. MCBETH said he "had a bunch of warrants." The officer confirmed MCBETH's outstanding warrants. MCBETH said he was "tired of running" and that he "was an active methamphetamine user" and that was causing him to commit crimes. Officer Kolling confirmed that the spool that was located at the scene belonged to Xcel Energy.

The wood spool was damaged. The spool was identified by Xcel Energy employees as 4/10 wire. It was still wrapped and appeared like new. It was later learned that the large spool of copper wire that had been taken was value at about $5,000. It was later learned that it would cost about $10,000 to fix the fence. BROOKS was transported to the Rice County Jail. BROOKS's bag was searched. Officer Kolling located several hand tools, including tools that appeared capable of cutting a fence. There were also two broken glass pipes with residue.

There was also small clear baggie with what appeared to be methamphetamine inside. Officer Kolling later field-tested the substance inside the baggie. The substance tested positive for methamphetamine. The contents weighed 0.44 grams without packaging.