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Man Suspected In Several Metro Burglaries Caught

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A man accused of burglarizing several high-end homes in the Twin Cities has been caught in the act.

Police say 43-year-old Stewart Pesheck is suspected of burglarizing more than 20 homes in several communities. They include Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Carver County, Deephaven, Edina, Hennepin County, Lakeville, Minneapolis, Maple Grove, south Lake Minnetonka and Washington County.  Police in Edina report at least seven break-ins between April 1 and May 31, 2011.

According to a criminal complaint, Pesheck was caught in the act by police who spotted him leaving an Eden Prairie residence that had just been robbed on Monday.  Police had been doing surveillance on Pesheck.

"He was very efficient and very quick at it," said Sgt. Dennis Paulson with the Eden Prairie Police Department.

Police said they saw Pesheck drive to a residence and leave the vehicle unattended in the driveway. Moments later, the garage door opened and Pesheck was seen driving his vehicle into the garage. Several minutes later, he drove out of the garage and away from the residence, according to the criminal complaint.

After Pesheck left, police noticed the rear door had been forced open with a pry tool and several wires had been cut to the back of the home. Officers said the resident found several items missing, including jewelry, laptops and a flat screen TV.

Police searched Pesheck's vehicle and found all the missing items, plus a pry bar, three pairs of gloves, a pair of wire cutters and a needle nose pliers.

In many of the previous cases, Pesheck had allegedly cut wires to home security systems and stole jewelry and other expensive items. Police said when they searched his home in Richfield, they found jewelry and other expensive items totaling thousands of dollars.

Police say Pesheck used different vehicles and never registered them, so they had a hard time finding him initially.  He was in jail last year for several months, then was released on bail.  Once he was out, police said he started hitting homes again.

The Hennepin County Attorney officially charged Pesheck in Hennepin County District Court on Wednesday with one felony count of second-degree burglary. He's expected to be charged for the other burglaries soon too.

Pesheck would simply go into a neighborhood, drive around and pick what home to hit.

"Based on what he saw, if there were no vehicles in a driveway, he'd just stop and get lucky," said Sgt. Paulson.

Police said this case is a good reminder for all homeowners to remember to lock their doors and be alert to suspicious activity and cars they see.

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