Star Tribune
St. Paul man steals car in the midst of driver’s sobriety test, police say
St. Paul police say a man stole a car while its owner was taking field sobriety tests during a traffic stop, then arrested later the same night.
The suspect has been identified as Kyle Stuart Vanwert, 39. He is also facing burglary charges from a case in April.
The incident began just after 6 p.m. on Sunday, when St. Paul police pulled a car over in the 800 block of West 7th Street on suspicion of drunk driving. While the woman was undergoing field sobriety tests with police, a man “suddenly” jumped into the car and drove off with it, St. Paul Police Sgt. Mike Ernster said.
The owner told police she had an AirTag tracking device inside the car. Officers from multiple police agencies were alerted to help locate the vehicle, Ernster said. Richfield and Bloomington police officers located the vehicle in Richfield near the intersection of Nicollet Avenue and 77th Street.
The officers arrested Vanwert, and Ernster said police identified him as the man who took the vehicle on 7th Street. He was booked into Ramsey County Jail and remained there on Monday.
The woman whose car was stolen was found to not be driving over the legal limit for alcohol concentration and her vehicle was returned to her, Ernster said.
On April 24, Vanwert was charged with first-degree burglary, after charges say he caused property damage to a fifth-floor apartment at the Dorothy Day Residence complex, where Vanwert lived. He was accused of breaking into another resident’s apartment with a hammer. His attorney for the burglary case did not return requests for comment Monday.
Vanwert was issued a conditional release on Sept. 10, after posting $10,000 bail. The release was granted on the requirement that Vanwert be transferred to in an in-patient treatment facility.
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A 14-year-old boy fatally shot a 13-year-old boy on accident early Tuesday in a Minneapolis home occupied by several other people, officials said.
The “apparent accidental” gunfire occurred about 1:30 a.m. near the intersection of N. 24th and Sheridan avenues in the 2400 block of N. Ferrant Place, a statement from police read.
Officers arrived, saw that the 13-year-old had been shot once and provided immediate aid to the teen before he died at the scene, according to police.
“Preliminary information indicates that a 14-year-old boy was handling a gun when the 13-year-old boy was shot,” the police statement continued. Police did not disclose the teens’ identities.
The 14-year-old remained at the scene, and was arrested and booked into the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center.
There were two adult women and other juveniles in the home at the time of the shooting, police said.
“The death of a child is always incredibly troubling and tragic,” said Police Chief Brian O’Hara. “Our investigators will work diligently to answer the many questions we have. In addition to supporting the families that are impacted by this tragedy, everyone must make every effort to ensure that every gun is securely stored.”
The shooting comes about two weeks after a 3-year-old boy accidentally shot himself to death in northeast Minneapolis. Jajuan Robinson was critically wounded at the Hook and Ladder Apartments in the 2300 block of Jefferson Street NE. on Oct, 21, said his aunt, Meshia Woods. The toddler died at HCMC a short time later.
A man has received a prison term topping 33 years for a killing outside a Wright County business where the shooter, his wife and the victim worked.
Kevin Uriel Zelaya Asencio, 24, of Glencoe, Minn., was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to second-degree intentional murder and second-degree assault in connection with the March 2023 shooting of Adrian Montano Medina in the parking lot of the Dura Supreme cabinet manufacturing company in Howard Lake.
With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Zelaya Asencio is expected to serve the first 21 years of his 33-year term in prison and the balance on supervised release.
The County Attorney’s Office said it based its criminal complaint on interviews with witnesses and Zelaya Asencio, along with physical evidence and surveillance video.
Numerous calls to 911 reported the shooting, including one from a woman screaming. One caller gave law enforcement the license plate of a pickup truck that Zelaya Asencio drove from the parking lot.
Police arrived and found Medina in the driver’s seat of a pickup truck with a fatal gunshot wound to his head.
Minutes later, a sheriff’s deputy spotted Zelaya Asencio’s pickup traveling on Hwy. 12 in Waverly. Zelaya Asencio was arrested, and the deputy found an AR-15 assault-style rifle in the pickup.
