The following is based on your complainant’s review of the reports of other officers and your complainant’s own investigation: On the afternoon of July 29, 2025, New Brighton Police responded to Beisswengers Hardware, [ADDRESS REDACTED] 8 NW, New Brighton, Ramsey County on a report of check fraud. Employees told officers that on two dates about a week earlier, two people had used fraudulent checks to purchase more than $2,000 in merchandise. The first transaction was found to have occurred on the evening of July 21. The second was the next day (July 22) at just after 7:00pm.
For both transactions, payment was made by check on the account of “Assn. For Child Psychoanalysis,” at an address in Eagan. When the business attempted to deposit the checks, they were denied. An investigator contacted the owner of the “Association for Child Psychoanalysis,” who said that the checks had been stolen from an open garage during a move. She had made a report to her local police (Burnsville PD 25-003792) the same afternoon as the report by Beisswengers. Surveillance video was recovered from Beisswengers.
It shows the same man and woman making the fraudulent purchases together on both July 21 and 22. On the first date, the woman writes out the fraudulent check (after the man appears to be struggling with hand cramps); the next day, it is the man who writes out the check. Both have distinctive tattoos. They leave in a Dodge pickup truck. Based on the license plate, the registered owner of the truck was identified as NICHOLAS TRUNNELL ([DOB REDACTED]). He was identified as the man in the video; he has the distinctive tattoos seen there.
The woman seen in the video was identified as TANYA MARIE LAMSON ([DOB REDACTED]). She has the distinctive tattoos seen there. Records indicate that between July 21 and 27, TRUNNELL pawned three of the items taken from Beisswengers using the fraudulent checks. The items were confiscated and returned. TRUNNELL's criminal record includes at least 15 felony convictions, including one from 2024 for Theft (Case No. 02-CR-23—710). He faces pending felony charges of Burglary in the Second Degree and Possession of Burglary and Theft Tools (Case No 86-CR-25-3425), Check Forgery (Case No. 02-CR-26- 1781), and Burglary in the Third Degree (Case No. 02-CR-25-7276). He is currently in custody.
LAMSON’s criminal record includes a 2022 felony conviction for Theft, for which imposition of sentence was stayed pursuant to Minn. Stat. 609.135. Her record includes multiple other convictions for Theft as well. She faces a pending charge of Financial Transaction Card Fraud (Case No. 62-CR-25-5975). The value of the fraudulent check written on July 21 by LAMSON was $676.23. The value of the fraudulent check written on July 22 by TRUNNELL was $1,352.65.
