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HOPKINS, Minn. (KMSP) - A suspected burglar is back out of jail and police in Hopkins, Minnesota worry he may be up to his old tricks after they linked him to nearly a dozen break-ins, including a church.
Through photos from surveillance cameras inside the St Gabriel Catholic Church, Sergeant Mike Glassberg reviews the suspect detectives believe plagued Hopkins for months.
Starting in April with a stolen bike followed by a few car break-ins, St. Gabriel became a target by early June.
The suspect broke in at night and then returned two nights later, this time also breaking into the Agamim Classical Academy connected to the church where he stole nine laptops.
Police say he also broke windows and doors and rummaged through a safe, causing an extensive amount of damage.
“It’s unusual for someone to come back so soon after to the same place where they’ve already done a break-on, but fortunately it provided us information to be able to catch him,” Sgt. Glassberg said.
Investigators said an observant tow truck driver spotted the suspect - identified as Timothy Meyers - ditch a backpack near a Holiday gas station.
After the driver noticed Meyers left some purses in the bathroom, he called police. Officers eventually arrested Meyers after he put up a fight at a nearby Cub Foods.
Detectives later found Meyers with an array of stolen items, including some at his mother's home a half mile from the church.
Meyers now faces charges related to 10 cases – one including a stolen car - and police say they have that tow truck driver to thank.
“It just goes to show how one little tip, one little phone call… we would have never probably caught up with this guy, at least on that particulate night,” Sgt. Glassberg said.