ROCHESTER, MN (KROC-AM News) – Local police have linked teenagers caught in a vehicle reported stolen in Rochester to a break-in at a tobacco shop in Kasson.
Both incidents occurred Thursday morning. Kasson police say six juveniles have been identified in connection with the break-in.
Kasson police said officers responded to a report of a burglary at the Kasson Smoke Shop, 301 South Mantorville Ave., around 4:45 a.m. on August 22.
When officers arrived, they found that the building’s windows had been smashed and merchandise had been stolen from the store, police said.
A review of the store’s surveillance footage showed six people throwing rocks at the front of the store, entering the tobacco shop and filling backpacks with merchandise, a news release said.
Officers later learned that the vehicle the suspects were traveling in had been reported stolen in Rochester.
Burglary suspects arrested in stolen vehicle at Kasson Smoke Shop in Rochester
That same morning, Rochester Police reported that a vehicle was speeding and fled an attempted traffic stop by an Olmsted County Sheriff’s deputy.
The deputy sheriff briefly began the pursuit but then broke it off, police said.
Officers later found the allegedly stolen vehicle 2400 blocks of 26th St. Northwest in Rochester. According to the police report, the suspects fled the vehicle on foot.
Amanda Grayson, communications coordinator for the Rochester Police Department, confirmed that there is a connection between the break-in at the Kasson tobacco shop and the escape from the stolen vehicle.
Grayson said officers arrested two suspects described as a 14-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy from Rochester.
According to Kasson police, items belonging to the tobacco shop were found in the stolen vehicle.
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