Fridley Police Busted Burglars in Act, According to Charges

A Fridley homeowner did the right thing last week by calling 911 when he heard strange sounds, according to Fridley Police Lt. Mike Monsrud. That helped Fridley police who were "in the right place at the right time" catch two burglars red-handed, Monsrud said. 

Now the two men—one from Fridley, the other from Minneapolis—face first-degree burglary charges in state court. 

On March 2 in the 5200 block of Horizon Drive NE, according to the criminal complaint, police arrived at the house to find Charleston Eugene Moore of Fridley coming out the door. On searching his pockets they found keys to the house that were missing from inside, the complaint says.

A second man, Cornelius Valentine Robinson of Minneapolis, was outside the house when polic arrived. He started to run but stopped when police drew guns and ordered him to do so, according to the complaint. Robinson admitted having followed Moore into the house where he looked around for something to steal, the complaint says.

Monsrud said a third man who was with the Moore and Robinson was in "a bad place at a bad time" but police couldn't find evidence that he had been inside the house, so he faces no charges.

The home towns of the two suspects are fairly typical of criminals local police pick up, Monsrud said: they usually come from Fridley or cities nearby.

What wasn't typical, he said, was the opportunity that an alert homeowner's 911 call gave Fridley police—to stop what police say was a burglary in process.