A man is accused of taking property, including a rifle, from a rural Olmsted County garage with two others and then running from deputies, according to charges.
Dustin Dean Devries, 45, faces charges of third-degree burglary, theft, receiving stolen property and fleeing a peace officer by a means other than a motor vehicle.
According to the complaint, deputies from the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office responded at about 6:57 a.m. on September 18 to a report of a burglary in progress at a residence in the Township of Farmington. The victim reported seeing trail camera photos showing three people on her property in a black pickup truck, removing items from her detached garage.
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As deputies arrived, one saw a black pickup truck with a blue makeshift trailer being driven away from the area. Another deputy attempted to stop the truck, but the driver fled at a high rate of speed before crashing into a ditch and hitting a tree. Two of the three occupants were apprehended at the scene, while the third ran away on foot.
The driver told deputies that Devries was the person who fled, that Devries had told him to run from law enforcement because he had an active arrest warrant, and that Devries had a handgun. The driver admitted being at the victim’s property and said he saw Devries take items from the garage and load them into the trailer.
The second occupant also admitted to being at the property with the driver and Devries and said Devries helped them remove items from the garage. Deputies found the garage door had been forced open.
The second victim, who used the detached garage as a shop, provided deputies a list of stolen property, including a .22-caliber rifle. Deputies later found a .22-caliber rifle in the black pickup truck. The second victim estimated the value of the stolen property at about $3,000.
The first victim confirmed to deputies that none of the people seen in the trail camera photos had permission to be on the property or take anything.
The charges against Devries include entering a building without consent with intent to steal or commit a felony, taking or using movable property without consent, receiving stolen property and fleeing law enforcement on foot.
The case was filed September 23 in Olmsted County District Court.
About This Charge
Minnesota’s general theft statute is § 609.52. Penalties scale with the dollar value taken: more than $500 is a gross misdemeanor, more than $1,000 is a five-year felony and more than $5,000 is a 10-year felony. Theft of a firearm, or a theft of more than $35,000 by swindle or another listed method, carries up to 20 years. Burglary is charged separately under § 609.582.
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Jurisdictional Context
Olmsted County encompasses Rochester and is served by the Olmsted County Attorney’s Office through the Third Judicial District. Felony cases are heard at the Olmsted County Government Center in downtown Rochester.
