On March 13, 2026, officers were dispatched to a gas station in Inver Grove Heights, Dakota County, on a theft complaint. Officers met with Victim, who appeared shaky and emotional. Victim reported meeting a friend named Joe to buy a Glock handgun. Joe was later identified as JOSEPH JAMES FLATEN ([DOB REDACTED]). Victim parked near Flaten and walked over to his driver’s window and gave him $600 for the gun. Flaten took the money and never gave Victim the gun and drove away. Flaten returned later and held the money out the window.
At that point, a man in the passenger seat pointed a handgun at him. Victim could see the laser pointed at him while he was sitting in his vehicle. Flaten drove away again without giving Victim [NAME REDACTED]. Victim [NAME REDACTED] on Snapchat between him and Flaten arranging the sale. Officers executed a search warrant on Flaten’s residence on March 19, 2026, and took Flaten into custody. Flaten gave a Mirandized statement during which he initially denied any knowledge of Victim’s report. When confronted with the message, Flaten admitted he agreed to sell Victim a gun, but never actually had one to sell.
Flaten admitted to taking Victim’s $600 and said he spent the money. Flaten also claimed he was alone in his vehicle. Flaten’s phone was searched pursuant to a warrant. A forensic extraction of the phone yielded three videos, two created on March 13, 2026, that showed a gun similar to that described by Victim. One of the videos was from a passenger viewpoint in Flaten’s vehicle. The person recording has a gun in his hand. The video shows Flaten with his window rolled down and a wad of cash in his hand.
The person pointed the gun out the vehicle as they pass Victim’s vehicle, and a laser sight is illuminated. The person laughs and the video stops. The phone also contained a Snapchat conversation between Flaten and unknown person beginning March 13, 2026, at approximately 2:40 pm. The chat included a reference to being with “Alex” and sending the above-referenced video with three crying laughing emojis and Flaten stating “I just hit a lick of $600 you in igh?” The term “hit a lick” is slang for committing a robbery.
There were also text conversations where Flaten admitted to taking Victim’s $600 Flaten’s texts included a conversation with a contact saved as “Alex” starting on March 10, 2026. In 2 19HA-CR-26-630 Filed in District Court State of Minnesota 5/4/2026 that conversation, Flaten and “Alex” discuss Victim wanting to buy a gun and taking his money. On March 12-13, 2026, there are additional texts regarding them “hitting the lick” that weekend. A detective determined through a database that the number for “Alex” belonged to ALEXANDER JACK ERICKSON [DOB REDACTED], Defendant herein.
Flaten’s location data from a tracking warrant also showed up numerous times at Erickson’s address.
