Suspect’s forgotten phone leads to arrest

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WOODBURY, MINN. -- If you’re going to commit a burglary, it’s helpful to not leave behind your own belongings if you want to avoid capture. Like your cellphone, for example.

But that’s just what prosecutors say a 25-year-old man did last year during a Woodbury burglary.

River Falls resident Andre Holt was arrested Jan. 28 in Wisconsin on a Washington County warrant issued for one count of first-degree burglary.

Holt was released from Washington County jail Jan. 30 after posting bond.

The charges stemmed from a July 13, 2011, incident where police were called to a house in the 8000 block of Galway Road in Woodbury for a burglary report.

A complaint warrant issued in November says a man there reported someone had entered his attached garage the previous night and rummaged through his vehicle.

Missing belongings included GPS units, a power inverter and a weed whip.

More than a week later, the man called police back to the house to turn over a cellphone his neighbor discovered while mowing his lawn.

Police said a check of the phone revealed it belonged to Holt.

Officers also checked an automated pawn system to investigate the missing items.

The check turned up items including a GPS unit, a power inverter and a weed whip had been pawned July 13, according to the complaint.

The phone number used by the person who pawned the goods matched up with Holt’s cell phone, the complaint states.

The burglary charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $35,000 fine.

Holt is scheduled to make his first court appearance March 14 in Washington County District Court.

Tags: crime, courts, wisconsin