St. Paul Police Recover Goat Stolen In 'Kid'-napping
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- On Tuesday, St. Paul Parks unleashed a herd of goats to gobble up invasive plants in Indian Mounds Park.
But the cute critters had barely settled in when a band of goat rustlers got a no good idea. In the wee early hours of Friday morning they apparently acted on their devious plan.
"I think this is a prime example of you never know what's going to happen in this line of work," St. Paul Police spokesman Sgt. Mike Ernster said.
As it turned out a police squad was patrolling in the area of Mounds Boulevard and Earl Street around 1 a.m. Friday.
That's when officers observed a vehicle blow a stop sign and nearly crashing into the squad. A high speed chase ensued with the vehicle trying to evade capture.
"It was a loud bang," St. Paul resident Daniel Thao, who lives near Harding High School, said.
The police chase came to an end in Thao's driveway when the white GMC Yukon suddenly turned in and smashed into the back end of his wife's vehicle.
But for Thao, then came the real surprise.
"I see a couple of cops with a goat in my front yard. I'm wondering, 'What's going on here? It's 1:30 in the morning!' I'm asleep and I think it's a bad dream," Thao said.
It was no dream. "Gordy" the goat had been stolen from the herd using an orange extension cord tied to his neck.
Daniel snapped a photo of the police officers posing with the grateful goat, obviously spared from an uncertain future.
In the meantime, two of the suspected thieves, Thaying Cha and Eni Xiong were photographed as well, at the Ramsey County jail. The two men were arrested and booked on suspicion of theft and fleeing an officer.
"Investigators are going to be working, interviewing the two we have in custody," Sgt. Ernster said. "If they do speak they might let us know what their intent was. Right now we're still trying to determine that."
Seems the close call, with the unknown intent, left Gordy a little stressed.
That's why his handlers picked him up and loaded him into the back of a pickup truck. He's heading off for a little vacation - to the farm from where he came.
"Gordy's doing well, just a little shaken up and nervous so we're taking him back to the farm to let him relax a bit," Gordy's caretaker Jarrett Spitzak said.
For Gordy the goat, it could be that city life isn't all it's cracked up to be.
