Three Arrested in Connection to Commercial Building Burglaries in Waite Park

(KNSI) — Three people were arrested in connection to burglaries in the Waite Park area earlier this month.

The Waite Park Police Department says two burglaries were reported at commercial businesses on July 6th. The first happened in the 1500 block of Graniteview Road. In that case, musical instruments and other items were stolen. They had a combined estimated value of $200,000. The other burglary happened in the 500 block of Julep Road. Police say in that case, about 650 feet of Heliax cable was stolen.

Investigators say they watched surveillance video from those burglaries and video from a storage unit in Hanover and identified a potential suspect.

A press release from the Waite Park Police Department says investigators executed three search warrants in Wright County on Tuesday to recover the stolen items. The search warrant at the storage facility recovered “a significant amount of the musical instruments.” That discovery led to a second search warrant at a mobile home park in Rockford that turned up “several grams of methamphetamine.” The third search warrant was carried out at a motel in Buffalo, where the suspect was believed to be staying.

Police arrested 34-year-old Andrew Skjod of Pequot Lakes, 36-year-old Alicia Laska of Hanover, and 40-year-old Christopher Barnes of Rockford. Skjod has been charged with felony burglary. Laska was charged with possession of methamphetamine and paraphernalia. Barnes was charged with receiving stolen property.

Police say the investigation is ongoing as other property and wire recovered may have ties to other burglaries and thefts throughout central Minnesota and the Twin Cities.

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