Eagan Pair Gets Jail, Probation for January Robbery

Two Eagan residents who —and threatened to shoot one of the victims—were sentenced to jail terms and probation.

Lloyd Valerian Howard, 27, pleaded guilty to one felony count of simple robbery and received a 120-day jail sentence, but was given 77 days credit for time already served. Michele Julie Larson, 39, also received a 120-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to one count of simple robbery, and was given 51 days credit for time already served.

Both also received five years of probation for their roles in the robbery. The terms of their probations include no contact with the victims, paid restitution and chemical dependency evaluation.

Police say Larson and Howard attempted to steal a Gucci wristlet containing $450 in cash and two full bottles of prescription Xanax and Percocet while visiting the victims' home in South St. Paul on Jan. 12.

But the robbery got messy when the victims got into a tussle with Howard, who was attempting to flea out the front door with Larson.

As Howard and Larson ran to the door, one of the victims latched onto Howard's shirt. Another male victim came to help, and both he and Howard allegedly fell onto a sidewalk just outside the house.

As they were rolling around on the sidewalk a "skinny black gun" fell out of Howard's possession, a witness to the fight told police. Police say Larson picked up the gun, pointed it at the male victim's head and threatened to "blow your head off," at which point the male victim let Howard go. Both robbers fled in a pearl-colored Escalade.

Police recovered a cell phone from the scene, which led them to Larson and Howard. Multiple witnesses to the fight also picked Howard and Larson out of a photographic line-up, the complaint said.

Investigators arrested Larson and Howard at a home in Welch. Officers also executed a search warrant for the home, where they recovered a gun that a witness confirmed had been used in the robbery.

Larson and Howard initially told police they were at the victims' residence to "buy food stamps," according to the complaint.