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Minnetonka residents pack meeting after carjacking
After a carjacking in a family's driveway, neighbors packed a Minnetonka City Council meeting to talk about crime.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The man accused of attacking a woman and child before stealing a car at a Minnetonka home now faces a dozen felony charges for his alleged involvement in a string of Twin Cities burglaries and car thefts.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced Tuesday that Romell Roshode Lewis has been charged in nine additional criminal cases for burglaries and stealing vehicles from homes in Edina and Minnetonka over the summer.
Lewis was initially charged with first-degree aggravated robbery, burglary, and carjacking in connection to the attack of a woman and child before stealing a car at a Minnetonka home in August. He now faces an additional count of first-degree burglary and eight counts of felony theft.
"Mr. Lewis appears responsible for a significant number of recent high-end motor vehicle thefts from the west metro," Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement. "While no weapons were involved, these were brazen incidents, any of which could have turned violent if an unsuspecting homeowner happened upon Mr. Lewis, like happened in Minnetonka on August 17 when a homeowner and her son were assaulted. These additional charges were possible because of the hard work and significant collaboration between our attorneys and local law enforcement."
The county attorney’s office says Lewis was involved in a string of thefts between July 16 and Aug. 30, noting cellphone data places him in the areas at the time of the offenses.
Lewis is accused of being involved in the following incidents:
- July 16: An Infinity sedan stolen from a home in Edina. The victim told police he noticed the car was missing and believed his keys and wallet were inside. The man received a notice that his card was used at Walgreens. The vehicle was later recovered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
- Aug. 2: A Mercedes stolen from a garage in Edina. The theft was captured on surveillance video, and police recovered the vehicle hours later in St. Paul after tracking it via GPS.
- Aug. 5: A Volkswagen SUV stolen outside a house in Edina. The victim told police a vehicle pulled up in front of his home, and someone got into his car and drove off. The victim tracked the vehicle on an app to a location in Minneapolis.
- Aug. 6: A BMW stolen from a driveway in Edina. The car was later recovered in Milwaukee. The victim said his children likely left the keys inside the vehicle.
- Aug. 16: A Mercedes stolen from a garage in Minnetonka. Police said Lewis was seen in the Mercedes at a carjacking in Minnetonka the following day. The vehicle was later recovered in Greenfield, Wisconsin.
- Aug. 17: A woman’s purse was stolen from a parked car inside a garage in Edina. Authorities say Lewis was seen arriving at the home in the stolen Mercedes.
- Aug. 18: A Lexus and Mazda stolen from a garage in Minnetonka. The victim believes the keys were left inside the vehicle, and the garage door was open. Prosecutors say the Lexus was recovered in Minneapolis, about two blocks from Lewis's grandmother’s house, where he sometimes stays.
- Aug. 26: An Audi stolen from a garage in Edina. Authorities say the two men arrived in a different stolen car, and the Audi was later used in an attempted theft on Aug. 28.
- Aug. 30: A Ford Expedition stolen from a driveway in Edina. Officers later located the Ford and stolen Audi and initiated a pursuit, which was terminated for safety reasons. The Ford was recovered in Minneapolis.
The county attorney’s office said Lewis is suspected to be involved in more thefts, but those incidents remain under investigation. Lewis was arrested on Sept. 19 and remains in Hennepin County Jail.