Cliff Buchan
News Editor

A St. Paul man who led police on a chase last week faces a handful of charges following his arrest in White Bear Lake.

Anthony Michael Sanchez, 42, of 264 Curtice St. W., St. Paul, was arrested on Tuesday, Aug. 8 after fleeing police in Forest Lake. He is also under investigation in a series of other crimes in Forest Lake the same day.

Police were called to Radio Shack, 1432 S. Lake St. at 5:20 p.m. where store officials reported a man had left the Northland Mall business with a Megellan GPS unit that had not been paid for.

Officers responding to the call located the man reported by Radio Shack employees and determined that the vehicle he was a driving, a white Saturn, had been stolen the day before in St. Paul.

Police attempted to stop Sanchez who then fled. Attempts by police to use stop sticks at US-61 and N. 120th St. in Hugo were not successful as Sanchez managed to avoid the stop, Forest Lake police said.

He was pursued to the south along US-61 and stopped near Roger Vadnais Plumbing & Pump Service, Inc., 4771 Bald Eagle Ave., White Bear Lake.

Sanchez fled the vehicle and fled on foot. As he was attempting to climb a six-foot fence, he ignored police orders to stop and was shot once with a Taser gun. He was then taken into custody.

Sanchez was booked in the county jail on probable cause fleeing officers in a motor vehicle, receiving stolen property, gross misdemeanor theft, reckless driving, and fleeing an officer on foot.

A passenger in the vehicle, Lisa Beth Zander, 30, of 324 Adams St. S., St. Croix Falls, WI, was issued a ticket for tampering with a motor vehicle.

Police said Sanchez is also being investigated for other possible thefts in Forest Lake.

At 3:44 p.m. the same day, Walgreens, 1207 W. Broadway Ave., reported the theft of two digital cameras valued at $199.

At 5:38 p.m., Heitala's Old World Meats, 1107 Highway 97, reported the theft of five bags of uncooked shrimp valued at $50 and seven pairs of sunglasses.

When the vehicle Sanchez was driving was stopped, police recovered a number of items including shrimp, sunglasses, a cell phone and a power saw.

ATM stolen

Forest Lake police are also investigating a theft they donít see every day ó the theft of an ATM cash machine.

It happened in the early morning hours of Aug. 11 at the Old Log Cabin, 9726 Scandia Trail N. Police were called to the restaurant at 4:17 when a neighbor reported the business alarm sounding.

At the scene, officers found signs of a forced entry. Although there was tampering to the bar and pull-tab area, the only thing missing, police said, was an ATM that had been pried from the floor and removed from the business.

Police were not sure of the value of the ATM nor the amount of cash it may have contained. The neighbor told police a man was seen leaving the building and walking to TH-97 where he got into a Suburban and left the scene.

Property damage of $1000 was reported by the Old Log Cabin.

Top of Page

Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605