A man forced his way into a Champlin home, shoved a resident, grabbed car keys and led officers on a chase through city streets and walking paths before crashing behind a Target store on a Saturday evening in late June.
Timothy James Sizer, 40, of Saint Louis Park, faces charges of 1st-degree burglary, fleeing police in a motor vehicle and fourth-degree property damage. The charges were filed Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court.
According to the complaint, officers responded at about 8:09 p.m. on June 27 to a reported burglary at a home on the 10000 block of Quebec Avenue in Champlin. The victim told officers he and another person had just returned from vacation and were unpacking when someone knocked at the door. The victim saw a thin white male with brown hair, later identified as Sizer, who claimed the home belonged to him and questioned how long the victim had lived there.
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When the victim told Sizer he was at the wrong house and asked him to leave, Sizer shoved the victim in the chest, entered the home and grabbed two sets of car keys from a table near the door. The victim followed Sizer outside toward a black Cadillac parked nearby. Sizer drove away in the Cadillac, and the victim recovered one set of keys from the ground, but the other set, belonging to a Lexus, was missing.
Minutes later, a second report came in from a resident on Gettysburg Avenue, who said a black Cadillac tried to back up to a trailer in his driveway and hook up to it, but was unsuccessful due to a lock. The Cadillac then drove south toward a hardware store. Officers learned a the victim alert had already been issued for the Cadillac for fleeing police in Saint Louis Park earlier that day.
At about 8:55 p.m., officers spotted the Cadillac on Dayton Road in Champlin and began a pursuit. Sizer allegedly drove southbound on Highway 169, exited onto a walking path and continued onto East Hayden Lake Road. He entered a parking lot, cut in front of a squad car, jumped a curb, drove on the grass near a KinderCare and crashed through a chain link fence and a pedestrian sign before fleeing south on Champlin Drive.
The Cadillac eventually crashed behind the Target on Business Park Boulevard, and the driver ran from the scene.
Officers responded to a 911 call about someone running from police in the area and saw a bystander chasing a man matching Sizer’s description. Officers ordered Sizer to stop, but he fled on foot. After a short chase, officers deployed a taser and took Sizer into custody. He was transported to Mercy Hospital for evaluation and then booked into the Hennepin County jail.
In a post-Miranda interview, Sizer told officers his day began with an argument with an older neighbor and that his dog had escaped twice. He said he felt harassed by police and described the day as a “nightmare” and a “blur,” claiming he did not remember taking any car keys from a residence. Sizer attributed his behavior to stress and said he had difficulty recalling details of the events. He is scheduled to appear in court on a date not specified in the complaint.
About This Charge
Minnesota classifies assault by degree under § 609.221 (first), § 609.222 (second), § 609.223 (third), § 609.2231 (fourth) and § 609.224 (fifth). First-degree assault, alleging great bodily harm, carries up to 20 years in prison. The lower degrees range from gross-misdemeanor up to 10-year felony exposure depending on weapon use and harm.
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Jurisdictional Context
Hennepin County is Minnesota’s most populous jurisdiction. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office handles felony prosecutions across Minneapolis and 45 surrounding cities; the Fourth Judicial District presides over felony arraignments and trials at the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis.
