St. Cloud Man Sentenced to Prison for Becker County Burglary and Fraud Charges

(KNSI) — A 35-year-old St. Cloud man has been sentenced to prison out of Becker County on burglary and fraud charges.

According to the criminal complaint, in September of 2020, Brian Crabtree was accused of breaking into the Elbow Lake Store and trying to pry open a slot machine inside the building. The incident was caught on surveillance video. However, the suspect matched Crabtree’s description and build, but his face wasn’t clearly shown. Investigators at the scene said they found a phone in the grass near an open window. They said it was not password protected, and when they swiped it open, they found messages sent to someone named Brian. The Facebook Messenger app was also open and logged in to Crabtree’s account.

Court records show later that same month, a woman dropped her wallet at a liquor store, and Crabtree was seen on surveillance video picking it up and leaving with it. The woman said she didn’t know her wallet was missing until she was notified there was a withdrawal of more than $600 from her account. Investigators say Crabtree took out $300 from one location in Detroit Lakes and was seen on surveillance video using an ATM at a credit union, also in Detroit Lakes.

Crabtree was charged with felony second-degree burglary, two counts of felony third-degree burglary, and felony debit card fraud. As part of the plea agreement, Crabtree was sentenced to just under four years in prison for one third-degree burglary charge and the fraud charge and ordered to pay restitution. The other charges were dropped.

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