Cliff Buchan
News EditorA careless driving stop in Forest Lake Friday turned into much more as Forest Lake police eventually arrested a man with a long criminal record.
But it wasnít easy as city officers had to call in a canine unit to help in the apprehension of Stephen Thomas Paul, 44, who lists an address of 21393 Heath Ave. N., Forest Lake.
Police attempted to stop Paul at 12:43 p.m. last Friday after the pickup he was driving turned west on SW 11th Avenue from Forest Road. Paul refused to stop and turned the pickup into the parking lot at 511 SW Apartment Lane before the truck hit a garage at 1007 SW Apartment Lane and stopped.
Chief of Police Clark Quiring said Paul fled the truck on foot and escaped to the wooded area west of the Hardwood Creek Trail and south of the Forest Lake Fire Hall. With the area sealed off, police called in the county canine unit, the chief said.
Quiring said Paul, in an attempt to escape, removed his shirt and pants and wearing only red boxer shorts tried to leave the area posing as a jogger. ìThe dog had his scent by then,î the chief said.
During the arrest, Paul received a dog bite to his right thigh. He was treated and released at Fairview Lakes Regional Medical Center in Wyoming before going to jail.
He was charged with theft of a motor vehicle and careless driving. Police said the vehicle driven by Paul was reported stolen from a dealership in Detroit Lakes. The 2004 Dodge was valued at $35,445.
Quiring said Paul is well known by local police and has a criminal record that includes 18 felony arrests. He has spent extensive time in jail and once escaped from the correctional facility in Lino Lakes.
Paul is also under investigation for possible involvement of a burglary of a convenience store in Detroit Lakes, the police chief said.
He was held in the county jail over the weekend but posted a $50,000 bond on Monday and was released, police said.
Drug arrest
A Wyoming man has been arrested on a host of drug charges after the pickup he was riding in was stopped by police at 12:46 a.m. on July 29.
Police executed a traffic stop of the vehicle on SE 11th Ave. and found a cylinder tank in the pickup that was suspicious, Quiring said. With the help of a Chisago County deputy trained in methamphetamine investigations, an arrest was made.
Quiring said John L. Belland, 25, of Wyoming, was charged with attempted controlled substance possession in the first-degree, unlawful transportation and possession of anhydrous ammonia and controlled substance crime in the fifth degree.
During the investigation, police recovered a one-gallon can of toluene, a one-gallon can of acid, lithium batteries and other items commonly used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. The anhydrous ammonia was stored in the cylinder, police said.
Belland was charged after meeting with investigators. The driver of the truck was not charged, police said.
Former Willows
owner charged
The former owner of Willows on the Water, Kevin R. Tacheny, is now facing a felony theft charge.
Tacheny, 37, of 9573 North Shore Trail N., was formally charged on Aug. 3 of felony theft exercising temporary control following a Forest Lake police investigation that started last winter.
Police became involved in January, February and March when the Forest Lake Lions Club reported the theft of money from its charitable gambling pull-tab sales. According to police reports, Tacheny is accused of taking proceeds from the sales and failing to pay back the funds totalling $1242.
A court date is pending. If convicted, Tacheny could face a sentence of five-years in jail and/or a fine of $10,000, police said.
Willows on the Water, the former Willow Point bar and restaurant, remains closed this summer.
More crime reports
In other Forest Lake police reports, authorities here are:
ïInvestigating two reports of theft of mail from residential mail boxes. One took place in the 100 block of South Shore Drive and the second happened in the 22000 block of Elston Ave. N.
In both cases mail was opened and checks being mailed with bill payments were taken. In one of the reports, a bank account at Wells Fargo Bank was entered and money was stolen. Quiring is advising home owners to not leave mail with financial documentation unattended in residential mail boxes.
ïInvestigating reports of a half dozen gasoline drive-offs from local service stations on Friday, Aug. 6.
ïRecovered two vehicles stolen from Ramsey County and Anoka County.
ïInvestigating the theft of two boat seats, five lifejackets and four buoys from a pontoon boat in the water of First Lake on Aug. 8.
ïInvestigating a forced-entry residential burglary over the weekend in the 1800 block of SE 9th Ave. that resulted in the theft of two sets of keys and a fillet knife.
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