On December 1, 2025, at approximately 11:39 AM, Officer Turner with the Rochester Police Department was dispatched to a reported burglary and vehicle theft at a storage unit facility located in Rochester, Olmsted County, Minnesota. Upon his arrival, he met with an adult male, fully identified in police reports (hereinafter “Victim”), who stated his storage unit had been broken into and multiple items, including his work van, were stolen. Victim stated the storage facility’s manager, an adult female fully identified in police reports (hereinafter “Manager”), told Victim that the overhead door to his storage unit was damaged.
Victim arrived at the facility shortly after this call and discovered his van had been stolen. Victim stated the keys to the van were left inside the vehicle, and no one else had permission to access or drive the van. The owner of the business confirmed no employees had taken the vehicle, nor was the vehicle towed. Victim [NAME REDACTED] was all white with no distinguishing features and had a Minnesota license plate ending in 146. Victim [NAME REDACTED] had been stolen from his enclosed trailer, which was parked next to his storage unit.
These items included various pieces of fishing equipment. Victim’s personal items, such as sunglasses, were in the van when it was stolen, as was property belonging to his employer. Victim identified $3,260 in items belonging to his employer as in the van when it was stolen. Victim identified $1,050 in items belonging to him as stolen. The total combined value of stolen property was $4,310. Officer Turner spoke with Manager, who stated she had reviewed surveillance footage from the weekend. On November 29, 2025, a small white transit van with a damaged passenger-side taillight rammed the overhead door of Victim’s unit.
No one exited the vehicle that day. On December 1, 2025, between 12:30 AM and 1:39 AM, the same van returned and intentionally rammed into the same door multiple times before leaving the area again. Manager stated the door sustained damage she estimated to exceed $1,000. Shortly after the van drove away, a white Mazda bearing Minnesota license plate ending in 490 pulled up to the storage unit. The passenger exited the Mazda and entered the storage unit. A short time later, the white van exited the storage unit.
On December 2, 2025, Officer Turner learned from Officer McCafferty with the Rochester Police 3 55-CR-26-85 Filed in District Court State of Minnesota 1/5/2026 Department that the Oakdale Police Department had initiated a traffic stop on the Mazda approximately 12 hours after the Rochester storage facility burglary. ZACHARY JAMES BUNNELL, [DOB REDACTED], was one of the vehicle’s occupants. Fishing equipment and power tools were located in the vehicle. Also inside the vehicle were license plates registered to a white transit van.
