jewelry, Vehicle Stolen in Smash-and-Grab Rochester Home Burglary

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Southeast Minnesota man is facing felony charges that stem from a smash-and-grab home burglary that occurred in Rochester. 

The criminal complaint, filed earlier this week in Olmsted County Court, says the alleged burglary occurred while the residents were not home on March 7. 

Part of the incident was captured by the home’s surveillance camera. A Rochester Police Detective reviewed footage captured by the camera shows a man, later identified as 42-year-old Andrew Olaf Swanson of Dakota, MN, walking up to the home in southwest Rochester around 11:15 a.m. on March 7. 

Swanson is spotted walking around the home before driving the victim’s vehicle out of the garage. The footage shows him re-entering the garage before closing the garage door and leaving the victim’s residence, the charges say. 

One of the home’s residents reported an unknown amount of jewelry belonging to her and daughter was stolen. A guitar was also reported stolen from a room in the home, the complaint states. 

The residents also reported someone had rummaged through their garage and reported they were not sure if any additional property was taken, according to the court document. 

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It was determined that Swanson broke his way into the house by throwing a brick on the house’s deck through a window, the complaint says. 

One of the bricks stacked outside of the home was found inside of the home when police responded to the burglary. 

Officers went to Swanson’s residence in Dakota and found the victim’s vehicle at the home and other property that was alleged to belong to the victimized residence, the charges say. 

Swanson has been charged with a count of second-degree burglary and theft. His conditional bail at $20,000.

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