The Stearns County Emergency Communications Center received a call in the early morning of Sept. 10 from off-duty police officers reporting suspicious activity in the area of Riverside Avenue N. and 27th Street N. in Le Sauk Township.
The off-duty officers reported they had located a vehicle parked on a field road in this area along with two men. They also reported it appeared the men had a utility wagon with stolen items in it.
Stearns County deputies and Sartell police officers responded to the area. The off-duty officers were able to provide further information on the men’s descriptions and locations while deputies and officers were enroute.
During the investigation, deputies learned two buildings in the area had been burglarized. Deputies and officers from the Sartell Police Department set up a perimeter and after several hours of searching, took Russell Schaefer, 50, of Little Falls and Christopher Hiemenz, 26, of Sauk Rapids into custody and later transported them to the Stearns County Jail.
During the course of the investigation, deputies recovered several pieces of stolen property. The investigation also attempted to identify any other suspects that might be involved.
Schaefer was charged with burglary and controlled substance possession. Hiemenz was charged with burglary.
