Cliff Buchan
News Editor

After a hectic six-day celebration over the Fourth of July period, the pace slowed for Forest Lake police last week, but criminals stayed active.

A series of theft reports and attempted break-ins continued to appear in the police blotter, according to Chief Clark Quiring.

On July 11, police were called to Northern Tool, 119 SW 12th St., where store employees observed two men moving a plasma cutter to a display area where it was placed under a trailer. The two men then left the store in a conversion van.

Police believe the welding-type machine valued at $1300 was being hidden for a later snatching. Quiring said a license plate taken from the vehicle was traced to another vehicle, meaning it was likely stolen.

Import Outlets, 132 SW 19th St., did not escape without a loss on July 13. The business reported to police that four wheels and tires valued at $1000 were stolen overnight from a vehicle parked there.

Three burglary attempts did not prove successful, Quiring said.

On Sunday, police were called to Forest Lake High School, 6101 Scandia Trail N., at 6:12 a.m. where building alarms were found activated.

Police found signs of pry marks to an exterior door, but entry to the school was not gained, the chief said.

On Saturday, police were called to Castlewood Golf Course, 7050 Scandia Trail N., where course employees found signs of an attempt to break open a door to the maintenance shed. Entry was not gained, the chief said.

At 11:42 p.m. on July 13, a resident in the 700 block of SW 11th Ave. returned home and surprised a boy who was found inside the garage. He fled north on SW 8th Street and was not detained.

A suspect in the attempted garage burglary may be connected to two other theft attempts in the area during the same weekend period, Quiring said.

Vehicle incidents

City police and the Minnesota State Patrol continue to investigate a pair of vehicle incidents, one involving a youth who was hit by a car.

On July 11 at 11:42 a.m., four Forest Lake area youth were attempting to cross Lake Street at N. 2nd Avenue in a crosswalk when one of the kids was hit a vehicle driven by a 44-year-old Forest Lake woman.

The girl was taken by ambulance to Fairview Lakes in Wyoming with non-life threatening injuries. The State Patrol is handling the investigation.

The second incident involved an eastbound vehicle on W. Broadway Ave. at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

According to police reports, the vehicle went out of control, crossed the westbound lanes of Broadway where it nearly hit a vehicle, drove over the curb and continued for a block on the sidewalk between NW 5th and NW 4th Streets.

The vehicle was later stopped by police and the investigation is pending.

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