Man Poses as a Worker to Burglarize Home

Police accuse two men of burglarizing a Hopkins home by pretending that one of them was doing work in the home, according to court documents filed Tuesday.

The men came to officers’ attention Sunday when a legitimate worker sanding floors in the home saw an unknown man walking through the home carrying a chainsaw, Investigator Renee Meuwissen wrote in the charging documents. The suspicious man asked where the rest of his tools were and said he’d been working in the home and had returned to collect the tools.

He then asked for the keys to the garage, and the worker pointed out the keys on a bench near the front door, according to the court documents. The worker then saw the man go in the garage, come back out with a bicycle, meet a second man and then leave.

The worker thought this was suspicious and contacted the homeowner. When the homeowner said the man didn’t have permission to be in the home or take any property, the worker called police.

An officer saw two men near the home who matched the description of the burglars, according to the court documents. As the officer approached, he saw one of the men, later identified as Dennis Lee Tyrone Patrick, place something n the back part of the SUV and quickly close the hatch. The other man, later identified as James Herman Pegues, was standing near the SUV and a white bicycle.

The officer saw an orange Echo brand chainsaw in the back of the SUV and found a screw driver in the Pegues’ pocket.

Prosecutors accuse Patrick of being the man who walked through the home. They’ve also determined that the 35-year-old Hopkins resident pawned items stolen during a burglary nearby a week earlier.

Patrick has been charged with second-degree burglary—a felony with a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

Pegues, a 47-year-old Minneapolis resident who’s thought to be the second man, has also been charged with second-degree burglary.

Both Patrick and Pegues are being held in Hennepin County jail on $40,000 bond.