Two men slipped into a North Branch assisted living facility through a back door marked as not an entrance, one of them carrying a loaded handgun, according to a criminal complaint.
Nicolas Equinn Ramone Perry, 32, of Minneapolis, faces a felony count of first-degree burglary and a gross misdemeanor count of carrying a pistol without a permit in Chisago County District Court. The charges were filed October 29. Cyrus Valazques, 22, is charged separately with first-degree burglary.
According to the complaint, officers were called to the facility at about 8:57 p.m. on October 27. A staff member had heard the back-door alarm and went to check, worried a resident might be trying to leave. She found the two men walking down the hall toward her.
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When she told them to leave, the men said something about having cards that let them in, the complaint says. When a second staff member appeared, they turned around and left through the same door. The door has a sign reading “NOTICE – THIS IS NOT AN ENTRANCE.” Staff said the men had torn down two Velcro barriers inside the doorway. Officers found the door could be unlocked easily by sliding a card into the frame. The facility’s video recorded the men unlocking it.
Officers spotted two men matching the description and turned on their emergency lights, the complaint says. Both ran toward a nearby hotel. Valazques was caught outside. Perry was arrested inside.
Hotel surveillance video showed Perry pull a handgun from under his sweatshirt and appear to try to hand it to a person in a hotel room, according to the complaint. Officers got a search warrant and found the gun in that room with a round in the chamber and a loaded magazine. The complaint says Perry has no permit to carry and had the gun while inside the facility.
