Star Tribune
Participant in prolific Minneapolis smartphone theft ring sentenced to nearly 9 years
A nearly nine-year term has been given to a 22-year-old man for his role in the violent robbery of a patron outside a Minneapolis bar last summer, a crime that was part of a scheme by marauding thieves who stole more than 100 cellphones downtown and elsewhere in the city.
Jamarcus R. Tucker of St. Paul was sentenced Friday in Hennepin County District Court after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting aggravated robbery in connection with an attack around bar closing time on July 22.
With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Tucker is expected to serve slightly less than five years in prison and the balance on supervised release. Judge Kerry Meyer also imposed on Tucker a lifetime ban from owning a firearm. Also as part of his sentence, he was ordered to pay more than $6,500 in restitution.
Police say a group of six to eight strangers approached 25-year-old Jack Nadeau and his friend outside the Gay 90s nightclub. After Nadeau handed 19-year-old Kevron Detrell Williams Gray his phone, Gray slipped it to someone else in the group. When Nadeau asked for it back, Gray said he didn’t have it, according to charges and other court filings.
Surveillance video showed the two men arguing, and then another stepped in, pushed Nadeau and punched him, according to the charges. Nadeau fell unconscious to the sidewalk.
Nadeau’s cellphone apps were used in 20 fraudulent transactions totaling $1,760, including to purchase Nike shoes on Amazon, which were shipped to Gray’s address, according to the charges.
Gray, of St. Paul, was sentenced in October to a term of 9 ¾ years after pleading guilty to first-degree aggravated robbery for his role in the crime. With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Gray is expected to serve about 6 ¼ years in prison and the balance on supervised release.
Police said thieves spent 10 months targeting victims’ financial apps, according to charges and other court documents filed against some of the suspected perpetrators.
The plot begins often around bar close with a member of the group approaching someone and asking whether he can add his rap label’s account to the person’s Instagram, according to the documents.
If the target hands over the phone, the suspects steal it and make purchases on the phone’s apps or transfer the owner’s money into their own accounts. If the owner resists, a member of the group assaults the victim.
Charges of racketeering were filed against 12 people in September following an extensive joint investigation by the Minneapolis Police Department and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The thieves’ total take topped $275,000, according to prosecutors, and the stolen phones were sold to a Minneapolis man who shipped them to buyers overseas.
Zhongshuang Su, known as the “iPhone Man,” allegedly made 40 shipments of 1,135 phones to addresses in Hong Kong. Prosecutors put the value of those phones at more than $800,000. Resolution of the charges against Su are pending.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will auction off state lands in popular northern counties next month.
The public land — in Aitkin, Cook, Itasca, and St. Louis counties — will go up for sale during the Department of Natural Resource’s annual online public land sale from Nov. 7 to 21.
“These rural and lakeshore properties may appeal to adjacent landowners or offer recreational opportunities such as space for a small cabin or camping,” the DNR said in a statement.
Properties will be available for bidding Nov. 7 through Nov. 21.
This all can trim for print: The properties include:
40 acres in Aitkin County, with a minimum bid of $85,000
44 acres in Cook County, minimum bid $138,000
1.9 acres in Itasca County, minimum bid $114,000
Minneapolis city officials say razor wire, concrete barriers and fencing will be removed from around the former Third Precinct police station – which was set ablaze by protesters after George Floyd’s police killing – in the next three weeks. The burned-out vestibule will be removed within three months with construction fencing to be erected closer to the building.
This week, Minneapolis City Council members have expressed frustration that four years after the protests culminated in a fire at the police station, the charred building still stands and has become a “prop” some conservatives use to rail against city leadership. Most recently, GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance made a stop outside the building and criticized Gov. Tim Walz’s handling of the 2020 riots.
On Thursday, the council voted 8-3 to approve a resolution calling for “immediate cleanup, remediation, and beautification of the 3000 Minnehaha site including but not limited to the removal of fencing, jersey barriers, barbed wire, and all other exterior blight.”
Council Member Robin Wonsley said the city needs to acknowledge that many police officers stationed in the Third Precinct “waged racist and violent actions” against residents for decades.
Council Member Aurin Chowdhury said the council wants the building cleaned up and beautified “immediately.”
“We cannot allow for this corner to be a backdrop for those who wish to manipulate the trauma of our city for political gain,” Chowdhury said.
Council Member Katie Cashman said the council shouldn’t be divided by “right-wing figures posing in front of the Third Precinct and pandering to conservative interests.”
“It’s really important for us to stay united in our goal, to achieve rehabilitation of this site in a way that advances racial healing and acknowledgement of the past trauma in this community, and to not let those figures divide us here,” she said.
It’s MEA weekend — the four-day stretch in mid-October when educators traditionally flock to St. Paul RiverCentre for a conference organized by the statewide teachers union as students and their families take an extended break.
Some orchards offer visitors the opportunity to pick their own fruit, while others operate sprawling general stores that sell a variety of apple-themed goodies.
Tiger cub twins Amaliya (female), left, and Andrei (male), right, who were born in May, hang out with their mother, Amur tiger Sundari, after making their debut in their new public habitat at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, Minn. on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. ] LEILA NAVIDI • leila.navidi@startribune.com (Leila Navidi)
October is usually a happenin’ month at the Minnesota Zoo. The annual Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular is chock-full of meticulously decorated gourds, and this year’s event runs until Nov. 2. Tickets start at $18 for adults and $14 for children (kids younger than 2 get in free but must still register for tickets). The Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular begins at 6 p.m.
But there’s another new attraction at the zoo these days: the pair of Amur tiger cubs born to 7-year-old mom Bernadette just a couple of months ago. This week, zoo officials named the young felines Marisa and Maks. The zoo is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day.
Patrons enjoy drinks and dinner on the patio Thursday evening, July 18, 2024 at Lola’s Lakehouse in Waconia. Lola’s Lakehouse in Waconia features a large back deck/patio area with views of Lake Waconia. (Jeff Wheeler/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
With so many people out of town, there’s no better time to visit some of the Twin Cities’ most popular eateries.
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