Blotter: BMW Smashes Into Xcel Utility Box, Causes Power Outage

A car accident in north Eagan was apparently the cause of a temporary blackout on Thursday. 

The two car collision occurred at the intersection of Pilot Knob and Corporate Center Drive, around 12:56 p.m. As a result of the accident, one of the vehicles (a BMW) apparently crashed into a major power box, leaving live wires exposed and causing a power outage in both business and residential areas. The car could not be safely removed from the scene until the utility, Xcel Energy, cut the current.

Also from this week's blotter:

Aug. 20

• 10:41 a.m.—Elderly couple on the 4000 block of Topaz Drive defrauded by "hail damage specialists."
• 2:05 p.m.—Suspicious person. Report taken in lobby of Eagan Police Department. A woman on the 3000 block of Alden Pond Lane said that she'd heard loud thumping noises at her front door and someone trying the handle. She said that this had been going on every night for four days, from about 11:30 at night to 5 a.m. She added that she believes the suspect also trampled and killed a large potted plant near the front door.

"I asked why she doesn't call as it is occurring and she said when she looks out she doesn't see anyone…I thought it rather odd," the officer wrote. "In the middle of our conversation, and out of the blue, she told me her husband is in the ICU and has been since July 3. He apparently fell down the stairs."

"The conversation just felt weird," the report concludes. 

• 3:48 p.m.—Disoriented older man reported at an address on the 4000 block of Beacon Hill Road. The reporting party said that the man walked up the driveway, saying that he didn't know where he lives. He appeared disheveled and was covered with burrs and scratches, as if he had been in the woods. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that he'd walked away from his home and gotten lost. 

Aug. 21

• 8:05 a.m.—Report of a "prank artist" targeting a resident on the 3000 block of Peridot Path. Ex-boyfriend suspected. The reporting party said that someone put a big tree branch on her car, stuffed her mailbox full of candy wrappers and then left two dead mice on the doorstep. She checked around with neighbors and none of them reported any suspicious activity on their own property.
• 1:40 p.m.—Patient threatening to stab herself with scissors at a clinic on the 1400 block of Duckwood Drive North. The woman, who lives in a group home, apparently became hostile during a checkup.
• 5:16 p.m.—Hit and run reported at the Green Mill on Rahncliff Court. Reporting party said that a tan, older white man left the restaurant "wasted," then hit several other cars while driving out of the parking lot. Man apprehended and arrested for DWI and leaving the scene of an accident.
• 9:09 p.m.—Drunkenness reported at the Target on Cliff Lake Road. A short, black male in preppy clothing was "acting strangely" and apparently kept trying to open all the doors. The man was taken to detox.

Aug. 22

• 11:19 a.m.—Car windows bashed in over night at an address on the 1700 block of Davenport Circle. Nothing stolen. Suspect apparently used a garden hose out of the homeowner's shed to break the windows.
• 1:35 p.m.—Threats reported at the Chipotle on Promenade Avenue. A worker said that another employee touched the back of his hand with a knife after an argument. The offending party was fired later that day.
• 2:31 p.m.—Threats made to a resident on the 4000 block of Rahn Road. The reporting party said that a former co-worker keeps calling and texting him death threats. Officers contacted the suspect, who denied that he'd ever threatened to kill the reporting party, but admitted that he'd told the man that "his butt was mine if he didn't stop talking poop."
• 4:41 p.m.—Nine-year-old girl attacked with a stick at Walnut Trail Apartments. The suspect is a 10-year-old neighbor, who told police that she just pushed the other girl.
• 6:20 p.m.—Two scooters stolen from Trapp Farm Park.
• 8:43 p.m.—Car versus bicyclist at the intersection of Denmark Avenue and Northwood Parkway. The driver said she didn't see the boy, who was riding his bike in the crosswalk. The boy reported only soreness in his leg. Refused medical attention.
• 9:28 p.m.—Extra patrol requested at Petsmart. A suspicious male came in right before closing. He was wearing all black, with shades and gloves, and kept looking back and forth. When an employee asked if she could be of any assistance he told her it was none of her business and stomped out of the store. Management at the store was afraid that the man was casing it for a future burglary. 

Aug. 23

• 12:31 p.m.—Male spotted on a neighbor's roof at home on the 400 block of Medary Avenue. The man appeared to be purposely damaging it. The reporting party believed that the neighbor put the man up to it so that he could put in a false insurance claim.
• 11:26 p.m.—Female heard screaming at the top of her lungs on the 1300 block of Lakeside Circle. The woman had bloody hands but would not tell the reporting party any more about what happened. When police arrived, they examined her and found that her left hand had been cut, but she was intoxicated and couldn't remember what happened. 

Aug. 24

• 6:20 a.m.—A 30 to 40-year-old man was found lying on a picnic table at Homestead Village, apparently after suffering cardiac and respiratory arrest. Police determined that he was dead as soon as they arrived on scene.
• 12:08 p.m.—Assault reported on the 4000 block of Lexington Point Parkway, man versus dog versus man. The altercation began when the reporting party caught his neighbor's dog peeing on a pine tree in his yard. The RP threw a rock at the dog, and a brawl ensued. The neighbor ran into the RP's yard, pushed him to the ground, punched him in the face and kicked him in the ribs. The RP was able to tear away from the man and lock himself inside his home, but the neighbor's rampage continued with an assault on the RP's car.
• 2:46 p.m.—A large amount of blood found in a room on the second floor of the Hilton Garden Inn with no obvious explanation as to how it got there. The room was processed as a possible crime scene, but it was determined that no crime had occurred after investigators spoke with the renter of the room and his female companion.

Aug. 26

• 3:06 p.m.—Sewage pump stolen over the weekend. The pump was taken from an address on the 2700 block of Blue Water Road.
• 8:09 p.m.—A resident on the 900 block of Waterford Drive East called police to report that he'd received death threats from another player of the online game, World of Warcraft.

Aug. 27

•1:02 p.m.—Disturbance reported at Applebee's on Town Centre Drive. The manager said that a woman threw a glass of water onto the man she was eating with. The two left the restaurant and continued their argument—loudly—in the parking lot.
• 9:56 p.m.—16-year-old boy on bike hit by a car at the intersection of Elrene Road and Yankee Doodle. No injuries.