On October 22, 2025, Minneapolis Police Officers responded to a burglary report at Eastside Food Co- Op, [ADDRESS REDACTED] Northeast, Minneapolis, Hennepin County. The reporting party M. C., stated that there were mechanical units on the roof that were experiencing issues. When he went to investigate, he discovered that his entire HVAC system had been damaged. Surveillance showed between 0400 and 0500 hours, a male later identified as PAUL WILLIAM BREKKESTRAN, Defendant herein, was on a bicycle in the alley adjacent to the Eastside Food Co-Op building.
The Defendant was carrying bolt cutters that were later recovered from the scene. The Defendant then climbed the fence to where a ladder was located in the trash corral. The Defendant then used the ladder to get on the roof of the building where he then removed copper piping from the HVAC system and heat exchanges on the roof. Copper wire and the bolt cutters were dropped in the alley where they were recovered. M. C.'s entire HVAC system is damaged and needs to be replaced. The current estimate is over $100,000. The Defendant is a suspect in approximately five other similar HVAC copper piping cases in the area around this same time frame.
The clothing he is wearing in this case is the same clothing for another case he is a suspect in. On October 30, 2025, Officers were able to ID the Defendant in the surveillance video through the Defendant's mother, J. B. J. B. Stated that the Defendant had recently left a rehabilitation program for a fentanyl addiction. J. B. Believed that the Defendant had been in Minneapolis area but does not have a phone or a permanent address. The Defendant is currently out of custody. The State is requesting that this complaint issue as a warrant given the multiple cases he is a suspect in, and he does not have an address to send a summons to.
