http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_14042153
Man breaks into two homes in St. Paul's North End, attacks occupants
By Mara H. Gottfried
mgottfried@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 12/21/2009 12:54:54 PM CST
St. Paul police are searching for a man who broke into two homes this morning, assaulted a homeowner in one case and tied up an elderly resident and her 4-year-old granddaughter in the other.
Both incidents occurred in the 1000 block of Barrett Street North in the North End neighborhood of St. Paul
The first break-in occurred around 8:20 a.m. today.
The homeowner's wife was outside the home shoveling snow. Police believe the man went into the house through the unlocked back door, said St. Paul police spokesman Paul Schnell.
Inside, the homeowner and assailant fought. The man hit the homeowner in the head with something and the victim sustained a laceration, Schnell said.
Police do not know if the burglar took anything before he fled. A neighbor called police and the homeowner was taken to Regions Hospital to receive stitches and treatment for the head injury.
Police responded, checked the area and didn't find the attacker.
A short time later, around 8:30 a.m., a woman in her 80s heard a knock on the side door of her house. She went to check and saw a man walking away. She shouted to the man to see what he needed. As the woman started shutting the door, the man forced his way in.
Inside, he shoved her around. He then tied the woman and her 4-year-old granddaughter together. They estimate he was there for about an hour before he left with the woman's purse, cell phone and blue four-door Chevrolet Lumina, with license plate VMA131.
After he left, they hopped together to the kitchen, got their legs untied and called for help.
The child was not injured. The woman reported chest pains and paramedics checked her at the scene. She did not need to be hospitalized.
Police are asking anyone who sees the Chevy to call 911 and not approach the vehicle. The suspect is described as a black man in his mid-30s to early 40s, about 200 pounds, 6-feet tall. He had a nearly bald head, facial stubble and was wearing a black jacket, black shirt, black jeans and black shoes.
Police are searching for the attacker and processing the crime scenes.
Police are looking into whether these cases are connected to an earlier case in which an elderly St. Paul woman was robbed and tied up for hours at her Highland Park home before being rescued.
Supposedly one man and two separate invasions.
0 comments:
Post a Comment