Distinctive Screwdriver Gave Him Away, Charges Say

Three teenagers, one from Fridley and two from Brooklyn Park, have been charged with burglarizing a garage in Brooklyn Park and attempting to get into the house through a service door.

Peter Yang of Fridley, also known as Peter Yang-Vang, 18, of Fridley is charged with two felonies: second-degree burglary and second-degree attempted burglary, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

Anthony Yang, 18, and Xai Vang, 18, both of Brooklyn Park, each are charged with two counts of second-degree burglary.

According to the criminal complaints, signed by Brooklyn Park Police Officer Matthew Ewert, police were called to investigate a residential burglary in the 7900 block of Sierra Parkway at about 1 p.m. onOct. 25.

A witness who was in the back yard of a home adjacent to the burglarized home provided detailed descriptions of the three suspects. The witness said he followed the suspects for a short time before calling police.

En route to the home, officers spotted three men matching the descriptions and stopped them. The witness was brought to the suspects and identified them as the men he saw leaving his neighbor’s house.

The three men were searched, and police found a “distinctive” screwdriver with initials carved on the handle in Vang’s possession, according to the complaint.

Police contacted the victim, who confirmed that a screwdriver bearing his initials was missing from his garage.

Vang admitted to police that he and the other two men had been looking for houses to burglarize so they could steal items to pawn, according to the complaint. Vang said they knocked on the victim’s front door, and when they determined that no one was home, they broke into the attached garage and tried unsuccessfully to get into the main part of the house through a connecting door, the complaint says.

Anthony Yang gave a similar version of events, according to the complaint.

All three men remain in the Hennepin County Jail. Peter Yang is being held on a $25,000 bond, Anthony Yang on a $40,000 bond and Vang on a $20,000 bond.