Officer Mike Lamm was watching a residence for two suspects with active arrest warrants out for them. As he was a watching the residence, a person matching the description of one of the suspects came out and left the residence in a vehicle. The vehicle was stopped and the driver was one of the suspects who had an active arrest warrant out for him. The driver was arrested on the warrant and found to be in possession of methamphetamine as well. The driver was jailed on the warrant and the new felony charges of possession of a controlled substance. 

Officer Adam Stier stopped a vehicle for improper lane use and found the driver was extremely intoxicated. The driver was arrested after failing a field sobriety test and later found to be over 3 times the legal limit. The subject was jailed and the vehicle was towed and impounded because his wife, who was a passenger in the vehicle, was unable to drive the vehicle because she was also over the legal limit. 

One night this past week a driver was distracted by her cell phone and went off the roadway and struck a traffic control sign.The driver steered her car back on to the roadway and continued on without stopping. Unfortunately for the “hit and run” crash driver, Officer Adam Stier was on patrol and only about a block down the road when the crash happened. Officer Stier saw the car veer off the roadway, strike a highway sign and then continue down the roadway. Officer Stier stopped the car and identified the driver. The driver indicated that she hit the sign because she was distracted by her …

Officer Mike Lamm was called to respond to a report of a vehicle driving erratically. Just as the call was being aired by dispatch with the description of the subject vehicle, Officer Adam Stier reported that he was out with the vehicle on a traffic stop. The driving complaint was confirmed as Officer Stier reported that he had stopped the vehicle for traveling 94 MPH on Cedar Avenue. 

Officer Troy Hokanson responded to a report of a motor scooter that was being operated by a driver who appeared to be intoxicated. The reporting party further indicated that the motor scooter had struck two parked cars and drove away from the scene. Officer Hokanson located the motor scooter with the driver standing next to it a short distance from the parked cars. The driver showed signs of intoxication as Officer Hokanson spoke with him and a portable breath test confirmed that the driver was intoxicated. The driver was placed under arrest and a check of his driving record indicated that he…

There was a story in the media a few weeks ago about a woman that LPD charged with felony theft who was fraudulently taking rent deposits from multiple parties for a property that she was renting but did not actually own. Sergeant Polinski received a call from additional victims recently, who had seen the story on TV and realized that they had been victims of the fraud also. The additional victims’ information will be added to the case file to pursue additional charges on the suspect. 

Sgt. Jay Castonguay was on patrol and found a subject living in his car in a parking lot. A warrant check revealed that the subject had an active arrest warrant out for him. The subject, who had apparently evaded the warrant by living in his car, was arrested and placed in Dakota County Jail.  Editor's note: the suspect in this case was deliberately living out of his car instead of his home in order to avoid arrest. He was not a homeless man.

Officer Chad Loeffler was on patrol when he stopped a vehicle for speeding one night recently. Upon checking on the driver’s current license status, he found that the driver did not have a valid license. Officer Loeffler also found that the driver had received another citation just five hours earlier for the same offense of Driving After Suspension of driver’s license. The driver’s vehicle was towed and impounded and the driver was issued another citation for the new violation. 

Officer Tom Stewart was on patrol one night recently and he stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation. During the course of interviewing the driver on the traffic stop, he became aware that the driver had been smoking marijuana. Officer Stewart told the driver that he should call someone to pick him up from the location of the traffic stop. The driver thought for a second and then almost talking to himself said, “I should call my grandma to pick me, but she smokes marijuana too, so maybe not." Other arrangements were made to have the driver transported from the traffic stop. 

Officer James Stevens was on patrol one night recently when he responded to a report of a vehicle stuck in a snow bank. Officer Stevens located the vehicle and, after talking with the driver, soon discovered why the vehicle was lodged in the snow bank. The driver appeared extremely intoxicated. A portable breath test administered to the driver indicated that he was over three times the legal limit. Officer Stevens arrested the driver who was jailed on DUI charges and the vehicle was towed and impounded. 

Tuesday morning there was a light dusting of snow, but the presence of a strong wind was creating very hazardous driving conditions, especially in the areas where there were open fields. Blowing snow across the roadway was also causing small areas of near blizzard conditions for motorists. Officer Adam Stier was on duty, driving on Cedar Avenue when he noted a vehicle that appeared to be traveling at a high rate of speed. Officer Stier was able to stop the vehicle and identified the driver, who was then cited for Careless Driving, due to the dangerous road conditions. The speed that Officer …

Officer Adam Stier stopped a vehicle for a license plate violation after running a routine computer check on the plate one night this week. While speaking with the driver, the driver displayed indications that she was under the influence of alcohol. Officer Stier requested that the driver perform a field sobriety test. The driver attempted to complete the test, but showed obvious signs of intoxication. Officer Stier arrested the driver for DUI and a subsequent breath test indicated that the driver was over twice the legal limit for intoxication. The driver was also found to have a revoked …

A local business called the dispatch center on a suspicious individual loitering at about 10 p.m. one night this week. Officers Josh Berkebile and Brad Wubben responded to the location to investigate. Upon arrival, they located the individual and identified him and found he had an active arrest warrant. The officers arrested the subject and placed him in Dakota County Jail. The next morning employees from the business called back and reported that the arrested subject had left two bags at the location. Officer Hokanson responded and took custody of the bags and returned to the Police Station …

Officer Rick Bussler responded to a property damage crash on Dodd Boulevard one day this week that occurred when a driver made an illegal U-turn in the roadway and was struck by an oncoming car. The errant driver was impatient to get to an appointment in Apple Valley and did not want to wait in traffic backed up at the intersection of Dodd Boulevard and Highview Avenue. The impatient driver pulled into the opposing lane of traffic to make the U-turn, causing the traffic crash. Officer Bussler issued the driver a traffic citation for the Improper Change of Course traffic violation. The …

Officers responded to a business late one night this week on a call of two subjects stealing metal from the back of the business. The officers arrived on scene and located and detained the two suspects, who had their vehicle and a large trailer full of scrap metal parked on the back side of the building by the loading docks.  The officers investigating the crime discovered the two suspects had pulled their vehicle in behind the business and loaded the metal belonging to the business onto their trailer. When the two got back in their vehicle to leave, they discovered that their truck would not…

Officer Chris Gartzke responded to a local retail store on a report that the store security officers had arrested a subject for shoplifting. Officer Gartzke arrived and issued the subject a citation for misdemeanor theft. Officer Gartzke also ran a routine computer check on the subject and found that the subject had an outstanding misdemeanor arrest warrant. The subject posted bail on the warrant and was released with a scheduled court date. The arrest warrant was for—yes, you probably have already guessed—misdemeanor theft / shoplifting. 

If you had a warrant out for your arrest, you would probably try not to attract the attention of police by driving a car with revoked license plates, but that is exactly what someone did one night this past week. Officer Brad Wubben was on routine patrol when he ran a registration check on a vehicle and discovered that the license plates were revoked. Officer Wubben stopped the vehicle and the driver was found to have an active arrest warrant out of Scott County. The driver also admitted that there was no insurance on the vehicle. The vehicle was towed and impounded and Officer Wubben …

Officer Brad Wubben stopped a vehicle for an equipment violation late one night this past week. The vehicle pulled over and the driver of the vehicle gave Officer Wubben his full name and date of birth. Officer Wubben returned to his squad and began running computer checks on the driver when he noticed the driver had stepped out of his vehicle. Officer Wubben told the driver to get back in his vehicle and the driver began walking, and then running away from Officer Wubben. Unfortunately for the fleeing driver, Officer Jessica Swaner was just arriving in the area. Officer Swaner quickly …

Officer Sarah Parr stopped a vehicle for a minor traffic violation and when she walked up to the driver’s door, the driver rolled down the window and a strong odor of burnt marijuana was immediately apparent. Officer Parr asked the driver if there was any marijuana in the car and the driver admitted there was and handed Officer Parr a small baggie with a small amount of marijuana in it. The driver was cited for the marijuana offense and released. 

Officer Sandy Thoeny came upon a vehicle that had crashed into a snow bank, just as the crash was being dispatched over the police radio on Monday morning. When Officer Thoeny got up to the vehicle and spoke with the driver, she observed that he demonstrated signs of extreme intoxication. Officer Thoeny had the driver perform a series of field sobriety tests. The driver failed the tests and was placed under arrest. The vehicle was towed and impounded. A breath test indicated that the driver’s alcohol level was over four times the legal limit. The time of the incident: 7:56 a.m.  Editor's note…