Police: Burglar Targeted Robbinsdale Store
Saturday was supposed to be the busiest shopping day of the summer for Minnesota Makers in Robbinsdale due to Whiz Bang Days. But because of the actions of a burglar, it was a much different day than owner Christa Kalk anticipated
“It’s just a really unfortunate situation,” Kalk said.
Minnesota Makers is home to the work of hundreds of local artists. A significant amount of that work was stolen early Saturday morning.
“He took everything out of this case, he took all of these two shelves, and then he took all of our apparel,” Kalk said as she showed off parts of the store.
Kalk has since restocked the shelves using products from her Excelsior store, but she estimates that the burglar stole more than $10,000 worth of merchandise.
“We’ve had some theft over the years, never anything to this extent,” she said. “No one’s ever damaged our store like this before.”
Robbinsdale police say the burglar smashed through the rear door of the building early Saturday morning. He then entered the property and broke the glass of the Minnesota Makers’ door to gain entry to the shop.
“There are about six punch points that happened with two very big rocks, and so with that, he was able to punch it enough that he could push it forward and then reach in and unlock the lock,” Kalk said.
She’s unsure of the burglar’s motive, but Robbinsdale police say they have a theory.
A burglar smashed the glass on the door of Minnesota Makers to gain access to the shop. Photo courtesy: Christa Kalk
‘May have been revenge or payback’
“What this really appears to be is somebody who was angry at a business and acted out improperly,” said Captain John Elder of the Robbinsdale Police Department.
Elder says investigators have surveillance video of the incident and believe they’ve identified the burglar.
“He’s known to us, largely for disorderly and theft type calls,” he said. “And there is a tie to this individual with Minnesota Makers, so it appears that this may have been a revenge or payback for something.”
As the investigators continue to process evidence collected at the scene, Kalk tries to keep a positive attitude about the situation.
“You know, the outpouring of support has been amazing,” she said. “People are very kind. We’re hopeful that folks will come out and shop with us.”
Meanwhile, Robbinsdale police say they hope to issue a warrant for the alleged burglar’s arrest after evidence gathered by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office is processed by the crime lab.
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