On 1/8/26 at about 1115 hours, Minneapolis Police took a report of a motor vehicle theft. The vehicle’s owner, JAH, said that overnight someone stole his black 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe (MN/RAC975) (VIN: 1GNEK13Z63R175859). On 04/09/2026, St. Paul Police Officers saw a group of people near a black Tahoe in an alley behind [ADDRESS REDACTED] in St. Paul, Ramsey County. When the individuals saw police, they entered the garage. As the officers passed by, they saw two MN license plates hanging in the open garage.
One of the plates, KPM445, had been reported stolen out of St. Paul. The officers stopped and identified the occupants of the garage; Cody John KRAIMER [DOB REDACTED], Ford William BLACK [DOB REDACTED], and Kari Ann MONSON [DOB REDACTED]. The group said they did not live at the address, that it belonged to a friend, but were they were unable to provide the friend’s name. The stolen plate was recovered. The black Tahoe parked in front of the garage was displaying MN license plate [PLATE REDACTED]. The plate registered to a Tahoe owned by KRAIMER (VIN: 1GNEK13ZX3J112679). When the officer tried to verify the vehicle’s VIN, however, he discovered that it was partially covered with paperwork.
The VIN on the driver's door was also unreadable. Auto thieves commonly cover a VIN, or damage VIN stickers, in order to thwart law enforcement efforts to identify it. Despite the obscured VIN on the dash, the officer could see that the VIN included the numbers "75" which did not match the VIN for KRAIMER’s Tahoe. After moving the paperwork, the officer was able to obtain the full VIN (1GNEK13Z63R175859) which came back as JAH’s stolen Tahoe. Auto thieves commonly switch license plates on a vehicle, and frequently use plates from similar vehicles, in order to thwart law enforcement efforts to identify it.
KRAIMER was arrested. During a post-Miranda statement, KRAIMER said he bought the Tahoe from an individual in WI for $500 in about July of 2025 and received a WI title, which he did not have with him. He further said that he registered the Tahoe in MN and those were the plates DMV issued him. The officer pointed out that KRAIMER could not have purchased the vehicle in 2025 because it was stolen in 2026. KRAIMER did not respond. Subsequent investigation revealed that the title for KRAIMER’s Tahoe (VIN: 1GNEK13ZX3J112679) was issued on January 14, 2026; six days after JAH’s Tahoe was stolen.
