St. Paul police make arrest in Mac-Groveland break-in and sex assault

Mara H. Gottfried, Pioneer Press
Updated ·3 min read
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St. Paul police arrested a 34-year-old Maplewood man Thursday in a break-in and sexual assault at a home in the Macalester-Groveland area last week.

Police didn’t release details Thursday about what led them to the suspect, saying more information will be included in the criminal complaint when prosecutors charge the man.

“On April 15, all our security was threatened with a sexual assault,” which was random, said Alyssa Arcand, a St. Paul police spokeswoman. “Many questions lingered: Do we know who was responsible? And can we catch this suspect? I can tell you that we put every effort into this case, our investigators and officers worked tirelessly to find the person responsible.”

Sexual assaults by strangers are rare — eight out of 10 rapes are committed by someone known to the victim, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

A woman told police she was sleeping when she heard someone pounding on the side door and a man she didn’t know forced entry into her home in the 300 block of South Snelling Avenue. The man robbed the woman of money, pulled out a weapon and sexually assaulted her, police said at the time.

He ran away and she called 911 just before 4:30 a.m. The woman was taken to a hospital for evaluation.

Police said they carried out search warrants on Thursday morning in Maplewood and Stillwater, and took the suspect into custody at his work in Blaine; the address is a recycling company. He was booked into the Ramsey County jail on suspicion of felony criminal sexual conduct and burglary. He hadn’t been charged as of Thursday afternoon.

Officers who responded to the initial 911 call “worked diligently … to try and establish some information that we could follow up on as investigators,” said Joshua Lego, deputy chief of investigations.

Patrol officers generally have to move on to the next emergency they’re sent to, but one of them, Zachary Schellinger, “took it upon himself to explore the evidence at hand and to utilize some of our technology to really drill down to help identify a suspect,” Lego said.

Investigators interviewed witnesses, canvassed the area and worked with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

“Many of these are whodunits and this was no different, but through the effort from our police department, rank-and-file officers and investigators this was brought to a conclusion successfully,” Lego said.

Police Chief Axel Henry said Thursday they’re keeping the victim “in the forefront of our mind.”

“Unfortunately, with something as dangerous and as serious as an event like this, our entire community felt this” and they also banded together, Henry said. “… We want to send a message: … If you come and commit crimes in this city, in this way, we are going to find you and we are going to hold you accountable.”

Minnesota court records show the suspect’s most recent convictions include disorderly conduct in Dakota County in 2020, domestic assault in a 2019 Maplewood case, disorderly conduct in a 2019 North St. Paul case and violating a domestic abuse no-contact order in a 2013 St. Paul case.

He was charged with felony burglary and robbery counts in 2008 Eagan and St. Paul cases and pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property in one case and aiding and abetting theft in the other.

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