54 P.M., the Defendant went to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office to report his vehicle stolen. The Defendant met with Deputy Matt Zinniel in an interview room and told him that his 2017 Mini Cooper was taken from his residence sometime between 4:00 A.M. And 1:15 P.M., when he was at work. The Defendant said the vehicle was unlocked, but the keys were inside his house, in a safe. The Defendant said when he went into his house, he noticed nothing was disturbed and the keys to the Mini Cooper were still in the safe.
Deputy Zinniel asked the Defendant if he had any suspects and he said he did not. Deputy Zinniel asked the Defendant if he had a lien on the vehicle and he said he did. He said he owed approximately $20,000 on the vehicle. Deputy Zinniel asked if he thought the vehicle could have been repossessed. The Defendant did admit to being one month behind on his payments but said he contacted Blaze Credit Union and confirmed that they had not repossessed the vehicle. Deputy Zinniel told the Defendant he would begin an investigation and keep him informed.
After speaking with the Defendant, Deputy Zinniel learned from their records staff that Progressive Insurance had called about the theft of the Defendant’s vehicle approximately one hour before the Defendant came to the sheriff’s office. The Progressive employee was asking for a case number for the stolen vehicle report. Deputy Zinniel then called Progressive Insurance and asked about the claim that the Defendant made. The Progressive employee said he was unable to obtain a statement from the Defendant, and he only knew that the Defendant claimed the vehicle was stolen in the early morning hours.
On October 13, 2025, Deputy Zinniel called Richard Cowan, who is the Defendant’s roommate. Deputy Zinniel asked Richard if he knew anything about the stolen vehicle. Richard immediately became upset and said Deputy Zinniel had no reason to contact him. Richard said the Defendant told him that he dropped the vehicle off in St. Cloud and had not seen it since. Richard ended the call shortly thereafter. That same day, the Defendant stopped in at the sheriff's office again to talk to Deputy Zinniel about his stolen vehicle.
Deputy Zinniel and Investigator Nate Larson spoke with the Defendant in an interview room. The Defendant reported that on October 12, 2025, he was in St. Cloud with a friend, Timothy Janke, because Timothy was looking for a new vehicle. He said they went to the Hyundai dealership, and he noticed his stolen Mini Cooper parked in the dealership lot. The Defendant said the Mini Cooper was unlocked and seemed to have no damage. The Defendant said he told Timothy that the Mini Cooper was his vehicle that had recently been stolen.
He said Timothy drove him back home to get the keys from his safe and then drove him back to the Hyundai dealership to pick up the Mini Cooper. The Defendant said the ignition was not damaged and he didn’t understand how someone could have taken it without the keys. Deputy Zinniel asked the Defendant why he had not notified law enforcement when he found his vehicle. The Defendant said he didn’t think much of it and figured he would contact the sheriff's office at his earliest convenience. Investigator Larson told the Defendant that his story seemed suspicious, and he asked him if Timothy would confirm his story about car shopping.
