Charges: Man With Long Criminal History Burglarized St. Paul Home

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A man with nine prior felony convictions is accused of burglarizing a St. Paul home last month, striking the two people inside and making off with a purse.

Nathaniel Jackson, 57, of St. Paul, is charged with two counts of burglary and one count of aggravated robbery in connection to the March 24 incident, court documents filed in Ramsey County show.

According to a criminal complaint, Jackson entered a home on the 400 block of Point Douglas Road that morning wearing a white hard hat and a bright orange traffic vest. He then struck a woman and knocked her to the floor before hitting her husband, who was in a wheelchair.

The woman ran to the neighbors for help, and when police arrived they found the woman covered in blood. She said her attacker took her purse, which had her driver's license and a credit card.

Just minutes after the burglary, the woman's credit card was used at a gas station in downtown St. Paul. Surveillance video showed a man pulling into the parking lot, wearing a construction vest.

The woman's purse was later found in a trash can in north Minneapolis.

Police said they recovered the suspect's hard hat and a comb at the burglarized home. Both items were submitted to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for testing, and the comb had Jackson's DNA on it.

After officers arrested Jackson, one of the victims picked him out of a lineup. He is currently in custody, and his bail has been set at $100,000.

If convicted of all counts, Jackson faces a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison.