On January 9, 2026, at approximately 11:45 am, officers of the West Saint Paul Police Department responded to a report of a disturbance at an apartment complex located in the City of West Saint Paul, Dakota County, Minnesota. Officers arrived and identified Nicole Marie Thomason, born on [DOB REDACTED]. Officers reviewed surveillance footage which showed an individual approach the vestibule door of the apartment complex at approximately 5:38 am and pull on the door multiple times. Within the next minute, Ms. Thomason is seen using a small card to attempt to unlock the door by sliding the card into the door lock mechanism.
The other individual then returns to pulling on the door and damages the door. Ms. Thomason is then seen using a cell phone light to look at the door lock and attempts to use the card again to open the door. A few minutes later a third individual arrives and uses a crowbar to open the door of the vestibule. Ms. Thomason is then seen on video grabbing a package and places this package under her jacket. One of the individuals then leaves and the other follows Ms. Thomason into the building. Officers spoke with Ms. Thomason, who stated that she was there with a friend to visit someone who lived in an apartment there, but Ms. Thomason was unable to provide the name of the person they were visiting.
Ms. Thomason was placed under arrest and provided a mirandized statement in which she stated that one of the individuals she was there with had told her that he knew someone at the apartment complex and that they could stay at that person’s apartment. Officers spoke with the resident of the apartment that Ms. Thomason had stated that she was going to visit, and that person stated that they had one guest over the night before who left by 11:00 pm and that there were no other visitors. During their initial contact, officers asked Ms. Thomason to empty out her pockets and Ms. Thomason admitted that she had controlled substances in her pocket.
Ms. Thomason then produced a small plastic bag with a crystal-like substance. The contents of the plastic bag were preliminarily tested by the Dakota County Drug Task Force and tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine with a weight of.14 grams.
