I am busily trying to save as much of the buzz crimewatch's postings as I can since it certainly sounds like I will not be part of buzz 2.0 as I don't work for the Star Tribune, I'm not a star tribune blog. As I mentioned in my first post on this blog, I saved my old blog, never shut it down and it seems likely if the individual blogs are shut down, other than the ones with the offiicial Strib imprimatur, that this will be my last post on buzz and I'll return to the old spot. So at least I have a place to continue crime blogging pretty seamlessly.

It's been great being here, with James as host and with the interesting denizens of buzzland. Quite a few of you don't even seem to hail from the twin cities so I appreciate your looking in on my blog. I also appreciate the readership continuing after I took a hiatus in June.

I'll probably be uploading buzz posts to the blogger blog in spurts over the next few weeks. Unless I am able to retrieve the files in some other way than cutting and pasting, some things will be lost, most notably the comments, which is too bad but can't be helped. We had some great threads on this blog, about the Treptow case and the wrong house raid, the foreclosure crisis which even got an instapundit insta-lanch for buzz (although mostly because Glenn Reynolds thought that James wrote the post--still, a score on instapundit is a score and what blogger wouldn't kill for one, not to mention being mistaken for James?? I know, enough of the fangirl stuff).   Read more...

A Deadly night on the Northside puts us at 26. However, last summer we had quite a few homicides during early August last year and the number we were up to back then was 32 as of August 10, 2007.

August 10, 2008 (MINNEAPOLIS) Late last evening and early this morning there were two separate shootings in North Minneapolis that left two dead.

The first incident occurred shortly after 10 p.m. when officers from the Fourth Precinct responded to a shooting in the 2900 block of Bryant Ave N. When officers arrived they found two victims of gunshot wounds. One victim adult male was lying in the street and was pronounced dead at the scene. The other was found nearby and was transported to North Memorial Medical center with a non-life threatening gunshot wound. At about the same time a third victim from the scene showed up at Hennepin county Medical center with a gunshot wound. That victim is receiving medical treatment and is listed in very severe critical condition.

The second incident occurred shortly before 1 a.m. in the 400 block of 24^th Ave N. Officers from the Fourth Precinct responded to a shooting in that area and when they arrived they found a male lying in the alley, victim of a gunshot wound. Victim was pronounced dead at the scene.  Read more...

We are approaching last year's body count rather quickly. For those of you keeping score, at this point last year we had 28.

Double shooting leaves one dead

August 7, 2008 (MINNEAPOLIS) Shortly before 11 p.m. this evening, officers from the Fourth Precinct were dispatched to a shots fired call in the 2000 block of Fremont Ave N.  While en-route to the call the status of the incident was changed to a shooting.  When officers arrived, they found an adult male and an adult female lying in separate yards, both with gunshot wounds. The adult male was pronounced dead at the scene and the adult female was transported to North Memorial Medical Center for a non-life threatening gunshot wound to her ankle.  The deceased male victim’s identity is not yet available and will be released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiners Office.

There are no suspects in custody at this time and investigators with the Minneapolis Police Department Homicide Unit are following leads.  Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Minneapolis Police Department tip line at 612-692-tips (8477).

PIO contact for this incident is Sgt Jesse Garcia III. 

Murders solved, while you wait in RL too.  

Suspect arrested in early morning homicide

August 7, 2008 (MINNEAPOLIS)  The Minneapolis Police Homicide Unit has arrested a person in connection with this morning’s homicide on 31^st Avenue South.  The suspect, a fifteen year old juvenile male, is an acquaintance of the victim’s.

Minneapolis Police officers had forced entry to a home in the 3200 block of 31^st Avenue South just before 1 a.m. in response to a 911 call that a male had been stabbed.  The male victim was transported to HCMC where he later died.

The identity of the victim and his cause of death will be released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.  As the suspect is a juvenile no further information about him can be released and no booking photo is available.

The PIO contact for this case is Sgt. William Palmer.  There is no on-camera PIO availability tonight and no other information will be available until tomorrow.

#  #  #

Sgt. William J. Palmer

Minneapolis Police Department   

Public Information Officer

350 South 5th Street Room 130   Read more...

A stabbing on the Southside. An earlier release was corrected to show that the man had been stabbed. No suspects at this time and not much more information has been released:

Man found stabbed in home dies

August 7, 2008 (MINNEAPOLIS) Shortly before 1 a.m. officers from the Third Precinct responded to a 911 call from a home in the 3200 block of 31^st Avenue South. The caller, an adult male, told the 911 operator that he had been stabbed and that he needed help. When officers arrived they had to force entry to the home and they found the man gravely injured inside. EMS transported the man to the hospital where he died.

The Minneapolis Police Homicide Unit is investigating this case. There are no suspects in custody and anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Homicide Unit at 612-673-2941. The cause of death and the victim’s identity will be released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The PIO contact for this case is Sgt. William Palmer. PIO availability will be by phone until 3 a.m. and then after 7 a.m.

From the folks at the 4th. My comments:

Not sure whether it was just written up this way this week but an awful lot of people seem to be reporting robberies a few hours to a few days later. Kind of when they got around to it, I guess. Also seems to indicate how the victims perceived the priority would be for catching the criminal or recovering the stuff.

Another woman runs naked into the street to get away from a rapist. Interesting how when it happens near the U, it's a huge story. In the 4th precinct, it just makes the highlights. Suspect is a non-compliant registered sex offender.

Witnesses watch while a guy sets a shopping cart on fire which spreads to a vehicle and a house.

Another attempted suicide thwarted by passersby and officer, this time on Camden bridge.

And good times:

Arrested were two 16 year old males w /20 & 12 CAPRS – for several hours one of the males continued to provide false names for he and his mother wasting doctors, nurses and police personal time and laughing and [finding] it very funny that authorities weren’t able to ID him.

MPD Highlights below
-------------------------------------
4TH PRECINCT HIGHLIGHTS - WEEK 549 – JULY 29 – AUGUST 4, 2008

The MPD provides this public safety information as a public service. These highlights are not reflective of all incidents handled or investigated by MPD during this time. All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

ASSAULT
21st & PENN WEDNESDAY 1811 HOURS 08-233215
35 year old black male w/18 CAPRS fired upon as he drove thru an intersection causing him to strike another vehicle.

If so, the MPD 5th precinct would like to talk to you. Maybe they busted somebody with a big haul of clubs and this could be your lucky day.

If you have had a set of golf clubs stolen within roughly the past two weeks, 5^th Precinct Property Crimes Investigations would like to talk to you even if you never reported the loss. Please contact Sgt. Mike Heyer at Michael.Heyer@ci.minneapolis.mn.us or 612.673.5599 if you are the victim of this specific crime in about that time period or know someone who is.

Never heard of Mt. Curve you say. Well you wouldn't.  It's a beautiful little south Minneapolis enclave in Lowry Hill with mansions that rival other more well known swanky neighborhoods like Kenwood.  It also boasts of geography (a non linear street) that tends to flummox most felons.  Until yesterday. So the folks on Mt. Curve better start locking their doors.  

 On the 1000 block of Mount Curve Ave this morning at 3:44 am, a man entered a resident's home and spent time inside without permission while the victims were asleep. There was no forced entry and no reported loss at this time. The victim confronted the suspect and called 911, at which point the suspect left. The victims were unharmed.
An arrest was made immediately by officers who were patrolling the neighborhood. The man, Terrence Anthony Berglund (date of birth: 4/21/1967), was apprehended and positively ID'd by the victim as the man who had entered their home. Terrence Berglund was arrested for PC burglary of dwelling and booked in Hennepin County Jail.
The victim was able to give a unique description of the suspect, which helped responding officers quickly locate the offender.
*What You Can Do:*

  * _Lock all windows and doors_, even when you are home or asleep
  * Pin windows that you want to have open; it's recommended to secure them so they can't open higher than 6". See information for pinning windows under Home Security Information at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/crime-prevention/ Note that you can also get brass sash stops at local hardware stores.
  * *Call 911 on suspicious activity*
  * Try to get a good description of suspects and vehicles. Some helpful hints are located here: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/crime-prevention/docs/Descsusp.pdf
*Remember please:*

  * Please pass this information on to your neighbors if they do not receive these emails (copy emails and paste them into a new message rather than forwarding them). Tell your neighbors how to sign up for these alerts by visiting http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/crimealert/signup.asp.
  * Please let your block club members know about these events.
  * Be aware of your surroundings. Call 911 on any suspicious activity, persons, or vehicles.
  * Watch for people on the street before exiting your home or vehicle.
  * When you get into your car, lock your doors and do not just sit in the parked vehicle.
  * Do not carry excessive cash, credit cards, or other items. Bring only what you need.
  * Write down the numbers and contact information for all your credit/debit cards so you can call and cancel them immediately if they are taken or lost. Keep this information in a safe location.
  * Get involved with (or start) your neighborhood Crime & Safety Committee.
  * Know your Neighborhood Associations.
  * If you have information on a crime please call the MPD Tips Line at (612) 692-8477.
  * If you witness a crime, try to look for this information:
  * _People:_ Estimated height, weight, build, age, race, gender, distinguishing features, and clothing.
  * _Vehicle:_ License plate number, make, model, year, and color.
  * _People and vehicles_: Time they came/left, and what direction they were last seen headed.
  * _Also note if a weapon is involved_.

I caught it late and now there's news that an arrest has been made. It happened in  an area close to 94 just inside the downtown Precinct 1.  I believe it's about a block from the farmer's Market.  Earlier reports suggested that there was a "homeless camp" nearby, without asserting that either the vic or suspect(s) in the case were homeless.  If it turns out to be true, this homicide will resemble the earlier killing of a homeless man on West River Road.  (Homicide #12) 

Suspect arrested in Sunday morning homicide

August 4^th, 2008 (MINNEAPOLIS)  The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office has notified the Minneapolis Police Homicide Unit that the death that occurred Sunday morning in the 600 block of Olson Memorial Highway was a homicide.  The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office will release more information about this incident later this week.

On Sunday afternoon the Minneapolis Police Homicide Unit arrested Jon Fitzgerald Posey (Date of birth March 3, 1965) in connection with this case.  He was later booked into the Hennepin County Jail for PC Murder.  The case has been presented to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for consideration of charges. 

A booking photo is available.

The PIO contact for this case is Sgt. William Palmer.  Read more...

I don't write'em I just comment.  The two homicides and a big gang sweep lead the hightlights this week. Also a complicated attempted suicide was resolved safely by a patrol officer and his ride-along?  I thought civilian ride-alongs were supposed to stay in the car.  Whatever works, I guess.  Ingenious resolution to that one.MPD highlights below    
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4TH PRECINCT HIGHLIGHTS - WEEK 548 – JULY 22 – JULY 28, 2008

The MPD provides this public safety information as a public service. These highlights are not reflective of all incidents handled or investigated by MPD during this time. All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

HOMICIDE
16TH & THOMAS SATURDAY 0237 HOURS 08-227855
Officers dispatched to a report of 9-10 shots being fired and locate Tyronne Hamilton, 23 year old black male DOA.

328 BROADWAY SUNDAY 0155 HOURS 08-229144
Officers dispatched to a SHOOT and locate Tyrone Sain a 34 year old black male with wounds from which he later died as a result of.

ASSAULT
41ST & BRYANT TUESDAY 1535 HOURS 08-223320
PERGUN call - 22 year old white female said she’d was threatened w/a a gun by two black males who had her car which was on a current Attempt to Locate. Officers later observe the car and upon searching it recovered a loaded pistol. Entire incident was unfounded and parties released w/out charges

2115 JAMES WEDNESDAY 1448 HOURS 08-224444