A woman closed her garage door to stop a burglar from driving away in her BMW after he entered her home carrying what appeared to be a knife, according to charges. Officers responded around 1:41 p.m. Sept. 15 to the 600 block of Kenneth Street in Saint Paul.
Aaron Matthew Million, 23, of Saint Paul, is charged in Ramsey County District Court with two counts of first-degree burglary and one count of attempted motor vehicle theft in that incident.
The woman told police she was listening to a podcast on her enclosed porch when a masked man entered and began searching for keys. She said he held what appeared to be a knife with a four-inch blade. When he moved farther into the house, she ran outside and called 911, according to the complaint.
The burglar came out about a minute later with keys to her 2019 BMW X3 and went into the garage. The woman followed and confronted him as he tried to put a bicycle into the SUV. He knocked the phone from her hands, got behind the wheel and started the engine, the complaint says.
The woman shut the overhead garage door. The burglar reopened it but appeared unable to get the BMW into reverse. As sirens approached, he left the SUV and rode away on his bicycle, according to the complaint.
Investigators reviewed neighborhood surveillance footage showing a man matching the burglar’s description riding a teal bicycle and carrying a bright green backpack. Police also identified Million in video recorded earlier that afternoon near Ford Parkway and Kenneth Street, four blocks south of the home.
Officers arrested Million the next day during an investigation into other burglaries. Police recovered clothing matching what the burglar wore, along with a switchblade and a blue mask, according to the complaint.
In a separate case, Million is charged with first-degree burglary and motor vehicle theft in a Sept. 16 break-in on the 2200 block of Selby Avenue. That complaint alleges he entered an occupied home, took keys and drove away in the homeowner’s Volkswagen Tiguan. Police later recovered the SUV and arrested Million after a neighborhood search.
Both complaints say Million had pleaded guilty Sept. 3 to first-degree burglary and motor vehicle theft in an earlier case and was released to treatment with GPS monitoring pending sentencing. They allege he left the treatment facility’s permitted area Sept. 8 and that his GPS device was found discarded the following day.
The new charges are allegations and have not been proven in court.
