The following is based on your complainant’s review of the reports of other officers and your complainant’s own investigation: On January 19, 2026, at about 3:15am, St. Paul Police on patrol observed a Nissan Versa traveling above the speed limit on Grotto St. And University Ave., St. Paul, Ramsey County. A traffic stop was conducted. The driver and sole occupant was identified as the defendant, JOSEPH MICHAEL MILLER ([DOB REDACTED]). He lacked a valid license to drive. His record showed at least six open citations over the prior several years – and many more over the prior decade – for driving without a valid license or insurance.
Two months prior, the defendant had been found driving without a valid license and with a firearm and drug paraphernalia. As officers conducted a pat search for safety, the defendant repeatedly reached for his left front pocket. Officers felt a baggie there. It was recovered and found to contain suspected narcotics. The Nissan was towed. In an inventory search, a backpack and reciprocating saw (with no blade) were on the backseat. The handle of the saw (but no other part) was heavily worn, consistent with it having been used inverted underneath vehicles.
On the end of the saw, where a blade would be inserted, was red paint residue (consistent with a common brand of saw blades). Inside of the backpack was a catalytic converter that appeared to have been hastily cut. On it was the same red paint residue. The jack lacked the removal date and VIN number required by state law (and consistent with legal removal). In the trunk of the Nissan was a floor jack, such as are used for catalytic converter theft. The items from the Nissan were recovered, and photographs were taken.
In a presumptive test, the substance contained in the baggie from the defendant’s pocket tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine, with a total net weight of 1.74 grams. In a Mirandized interview, the defendant admitted to cutting the catalytic converter. He claimed that it had come from the Nissan. (In fact, the Nissan’s catalytic converter was intact.) The defendant's criminal record includes separate felony convictions for Theft of Motor Vehicle and Receiving Stolen Property; in each case, he received a stay of imposition and was eventually sentenced to a misdemeanor.
