If you have a tip concerning a crime, call the Sartell Police Department at 320-251-8186 or Tri-County Crime Stoppers at 320-255-1301, or access its tip site at tricountycrimestoppers.org. Crime Stoppers offers rewards up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for a crime.
Dec. 6
8:30 p.m. Hazard. First St. NE. An officer was dispatched to a complaint of a camper that appeared to be abandoned in the middle of the road. An officer arrived in the area and located the camper in the middle of the road. The officer noted it appeared as the truck hitch had fallen off the truck and the camper came to a rest in the roadway. The officer attempted contact with the registered owner, and no voicemail was set up. The officer had the camper towed.
Dec. 7
10:45 a.m. Business assist. CR 1. An officer was requested by a towing company. The tow truck needed to remove a vehicle from the ditch on a curve. The officer shut down traffic while the tow truck pulled the car out of the ditch.
Dec. 8
4:52 p.m. Shoplifter. CR 120. An officer was called to respond to a business for a woman concealing merchandise in her pocket. When the officer arrived, he was told by Asset Protection the woman left the store and did not attempt to pay for the merchandise. The officer found the woman standing in the parking lot next to a vehicle. When the woman saw the officer, she put her hands in her pockets. The officer told her to take her hands out along with the merchandise. When the woman did this, the officer saw a straw with burnt ends. While patting the woman down, two necklaces and a nail clipper were found. The woman was issued a verbal warning for the drug paraphernalia, a trespass notice from the store and a theft citation.
Dec. 9
9:29 p.m. Verbal. Seventh Avenue S. Officers were dispatched to a verbal in progress. Officers were informed the complainant called in stating her boyfriend was being verbal and getting in her face. The boyfriend had threatened to punch the complainant, so she took the SD card out of his camera to preserve the evidence and he was now accusing her of theft. Officers spoke to both involved and both told officers nothing was physical, just verbal. The man agreed to leave for the night to let the situation calm down.
Dec. 10
10:33 p.m. DWI. Pinecone Road N. While on a traffic stop, an officer witnessed a vehicle leave the parking lot of a gas station, stop in the roadway, reverse and then take off at a high rate of speed. The officer conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle; the driver was slow to stop. Once the vehicle stopped, the officer made contact with the female driver and noted an overwhelming fruity odor of alcoholic beverages emitting from inside the vehicle. The officer could see the vehicle wasn’t in park, so he instructed the female to put it in park. The female put it in reverse and slowly started rolling backward toward the squad car. The officer again instructed the female to put her foot on the brake and to put the vehicle in park. Once the vehicle was in park, the officer reached inside and shut the vehicle off, for everyone’s safety. The officer had the woman exit the vehicle and stand near his squad where the woman was swaying back and forth. The woman refused to do field sobriety. She was taken into custody and transported to the Sartell Police Department for testing; while in transit she slipped her cuffs off. The woman did give a preliminary breath test, which was over the legal limit. She was taken to the Stearns County Jail for DWI. While in transit, she again slipped her cuffs off. She also attempted to spit at the officer as they entered the jail. The woman was left in the care of jail staff.
Dec. 11
1:41 p.m. Found property. Huntington Drive. An officer was requested because a backpack was found in the complainant’s yard. The officer found paperwork with a man’s name inside the backpack and was able to call the man. The man told the officer he was missing a black military backpack and Columbia jacket that was taken from his unlocked truck when he was staying at his friend’s house. The officer was aware of two other thefts in that area and during that time frame. This case is still under investigation, as there are suspects from the other calls.
Dec. 12
12:01 a.m. Suspicious activity. 12th Street N. While on another call, an officer found the portable toilet had been knocked over at a city park. While the officer was on foot, he found a building had been spray painted. The officer took photos of the damage and will send them to the Public Works Department to be fixed and for estimated damage totals.
Dec. 13
8:46 p.m. Disorderly conduct. CR 120. Officers were requested to respond for two female customers who were disorderly in the store and possibly assaulted a staff member. The officers were informed the women left in a vehicle. One officer saw the vehicle and was able to make a traffic stop, while the other officer responded to the store. The officer on the traffic stop was informed that staff at the business had issues with one woman spraying fart spray in the store and confronted her. The officer was told the staff member had a box cutter in her hand and that the other woman took that as a threat. The officer in the store was informed the woman had pushed the staff member after the staff member had confronted them about spraying fart spray. The employee who was pushed didn’t want to press charges and thought the store trespassing the women was enough. The store will mail the trespass notices after video is reviewed.
Dec. 14
6:12 a.m. Suspicious activity. Glacier Avenue. An officer was dispatched to a report of shoe tracks in the snow that looked as if someone was trying to get into vehicles overnight. The caller told the officer his vehicle was locked but the tracks went around the vehicle as though someone had been looking in it. The shoe prints were followed to Horizon Avenue but then lost in the continued snow. The officer was able to get a few pictures of the shoe prints in the snow.
Dec. 15
3:09 p.m. Trespassing. CR 120. Officers were dispatched to a man huffing an aerosol can at the bus stop, then who had passed out. It was determined while enroute that it was most likely the same man officers had been dealing with the previous day on similar calls. Upon the officer’s arrival the man was lying in a snowbank and struggling to get up. The man then got up and started huffing aerosol cans again. The man tried denying huffing to the officer, with four cans on the ground next to him; the officer collected the cans he could see. Mayo ambulance was called to check the man out. The man was cited for trespassing, after the initial trespass paperwork was signed the day before. The man was transported to the Stearns County Jail.
Dec. 16
10:39 a.m. Hazard. Pinecone Road. An officer was requested to check a hazard a motorist called in. The officer was informed a man in a motorized wheelchair was driving in the traffic lane and switching lanes without any warning to drivers. The officer located the man coming out of a parking lot; the man was difficult to see with the snow and no markings on the scooter. The officer drove along side the man and he told the officer he had no other choice due to snow. The man indicated he needed to go over by the Plaza. Due to concerns for his safety and other drivers, the officer followed the man with rear emergency lights on.
Dec. 17
11:54 p.m. Gunshots. Third Street N. An officer was dispatched for possible gunshots. The caller told dispatch she thought she had heard two gunshots in the backyard. While the officer was enroute, the woman told dispatch she heard it again. When the officer arrived and was speaking to the woman the noise occurred again. The officer was able to identify the noise coming from her deck; the deck wood was expanding and contracting with the cold temps.
Dec. 18
1:51 p.m. Assist agency. 35th Street N. Dispatch requested an officer assist Stearns County with responding to a Life360 report of a crash in a wooded area. As the officer was responding, the owner of the 360 called back and told dispatch he was in a snowmobile crash but did not have any injuries. The Sartell officer was informed he could return to city limits.
Dec. 19
1:02 p.m. Burning complaint. Fifth Avenue N. An officer was dispatched to a man in a detached garage with an active fire burning in a burning pit. The officer requested the Sartell Fire Marshal also respond. When they arrived, they saw a man, who told them he was burning scraps from a recent renovation. The fire marshal informed the man he needed to move the fire pit outside the building, and to not burn treated wood or other building materials. The man complied and moved the pit outside.
