Posted: 11/5/03

Canine search at Forest Lake High School finds 5 students with weapons

A routine search of lockers and vehicles at Forest Lake High School last Friday turned up five incidents of students possessing dangerous weapons, police said this week. In one case, a shotgun and ammunition was found in a trunk of a vehicle, authorities said.

The search was carried out by school officials, the police liaison officer from the high school and a canine drug-sniffing dog from the Washington County Sheriffís Office narcotics unit.

In two of the cases, officers found Gerber pocket knives, one in a locker and one in a vehicle. In two additional cases, students were found with Leatherman tools in their possession and in a vehicle.

Police issued two tickets during the Friday operation. One student who was found with a Leatherman tool was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon in school, according to Forest Lake police records.

A second student was charged with possession of tobacco.

No charges were issued for three of the incidents involving knives or the Leatherman tools. The student found with the shotgun in the vehicle was not charged, police said.

Police reports said school discipline steps, including suspensions and possible expulsions, may follow in the discoveries.

Halloween revelry

There were no pranks or tricks on Halloween or the early-morning hours of Nov. 1, but police did find work with post-Halloween fisticuffs.

In early-morning incidents on Nov. 1, police arrested a pair of men for disorderly conduct following a fight and wrote out two additional tickets in connection with evening revelry.

In one case, a police attempt to stop a motorist for driving through a red light resulted in a short foot chase before an arrest was made.

At 1:23 a.m. Nov. 1, police on patrol, observed a vehicle drive through a red light as it was westbound on W. Broadway Avenue at Lake Street. The vehicle stopped for police about two blocks west but sped off as an officer approached the vehicle.

The car traveled west to the 500 block where it made a hard right turn and hit a parked vehicle. The driver then fled on foot, police said.

A second Forest Lake officer apprehended the man after a brief scuffle three to four blocks north of the accident scene. He faces charges of driving while intoxicated, obstruction with force and refusal to test.

Other crimes

Alert action by a Target store security team helped stop an attempted forgery on Sunday. Police were called to the store at 356 SW 12th St. at 2:41 p.m. and took three people into custody after attempts were made to pass forged checks, police said.

Cynthia D. Elmore, 37, Brooklyn Park, and Leotis E. Combs, 53, Minneapolis, were arrested on felony forgery charges and taken to jail.

The third party, Roxanne E. Combs, 41, Minneapolis, who was waiting outside in a vehicle, was taken to jail and charged with driving after revocation.

A burglary at Nu-Life Cleaners, 1500 S. Lake St., was reported at 6:40 a.m., Friday, Oct. 31. Store officials arrived to discover the forced-entry burglary and the loss of a cash bag containing store receipts, police said.

Police are investigating the recovery of three bundles each containing 100 unused Minnesota State Lottery scratch-off game tickets. Police said a walker found the three bundles in a plastic bag at 204th St. N. and Harrow Ave. N. at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 1.

Police said the lottery tickets belonged to the Conoco convenience store on Lake Drive in Columbus Township. Police here are checking with Anoka County authorities for any theft reports that may have taken place there in recent days.

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