On or about January 6, 2026, a deputy with the Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s Office spoke with Female-1, an adult female fully identified in police reports, over the phone. Female-1 advised the deputy that she was recently staying at the Excalibur Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 28, 2025. Female-1 stated that her smartphone was either stolen or lost and picked up by someone at the casino. Female-1 stated that her phone was now pinging to a residence on 205th Street, in Milaca, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota.
Deputies arrived at the residence and asked to speak with the homeowner. The homeowner, Male-1, an adult male fully identified in police reports, denied having been to Las Vegas recently, but did state that his father-in-law, JAMES JOHN SCHOEPKE [DOB REDACTED] had just been there. Male-1 stated that SCHOEPKE was in Minnesota visiting. The deputies spoke with SCHOEPKE at the residence, and SCHOEPKE confirmed having been in Las Vegas but denied having the phone. Male-1 asked SCHOEPKE to “be honest,” but SCHOEPKE again denied having taken the phone.
A deputy called Female-1 to see if she could get an updated location of the phone. Female-1 stated that the phone had gone from the residence down to a location on 190th Street, where the tracking functionality stopped working at an intersection. The deputies advised the occupants of the residence that they were leaving to go to the last location of the phone. As they were leaving, Male-1 asked the deputies to come back inside, and that SCHOEPKE had something to share with the deputies. When back inside, SCHOEPKE admitted to having taken the phone, and stated that he threw it out near 130th Avenue and 190th Street.
SCHOEPKE stated that he had accidentally picked it up from a slot machine and did not know it was not his. The deputy noted that Female-1’s phone was pink-gold in color and had no case on it, and SCHOEPKE’s phone was blue with a red case. The deputies went to the location and found a McDonald’s bag with the phone inside of it. The intersection is within Mille Lacs County. The deputies noted that the phone alerted Female-1 on several occasions that someone was trying to access the phone. The phone was at 65% battery life, and had a family of six, including Female-1, as the wallpaper for the phone.
Female-1 reported to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department that the phone was an iPhone 16 Pro, valued at $1,100.00. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: Pursuant to Minn. Stat. 609.49, intentional failure to appear for duly scheduled court appearances may result in additional criminal charges, and in addition to any arrest warrant that may otherwise be issued by the Court.
