Rochester Porch Pirate Sentenced to Prison

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester woman has been handed a prison sentence in a so-called “porch pirate” case.

According to Olmsted County court records, 52-year-old Connie Lyn Ziemann was arrested in early October last year after Rochester police responded to a report of mail theft from a southeast Rochester residence. A homeowner reported that a package had been stolen from her front steps, and her home’s security camera recorded the theft.

Surveillance Video Leads to Arrest

The criminal complaint against Ziemann says the video shows a middle-aged white woman walking up to the door, taking the package, and then riding away on a bicycle.

Court documents say Rochester police responded several hours later to another report in southeast Rochester involving a person on a bicycle using a flashlight to look into mailboxes. Officers sent to investigate found Ziemann riding a bike, holding a flashlight, and carrying a bag.

Caught With Stolen Items

The criminal complaint states that officers noted discrepancies in Ziemann’s explanation of her activities and that her descriptions of her bicycle travels matched the locations of reported mail thefts. The charges say Ziemann was also found in possession of numerous items linked to mail thefts from several victims in the area.

Ziemann was charged with seven counts of felony mail theft. She entered into a plea agreement last November and admitted to two of the charges.

Previous Felony Convictions

She was sentenced today to 21 months in prison, with credit for 100 days already served in jail. The Minnesota Department of Corrections website indicates Ziemann has been in prison since last October, serving a 65-month sentence for a 2019 conviction for first-degree drug sales. She had previously received probation in that case, and her arrest for the mail theft led the court to execute the prison sentence.

Her criminal history also includes another first-degree drug conviction and two prior felony convictions for mail theft.

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