A 19-year-old man arrested in November’s break-in of a West St. Paul underground water holding tank told police that he and his friends make fishing videos in obscure places, according to charges.
The Nov. 19 break-in led to drone and helicopter perimeter searches for suspects by seven area police agencies, who took Zachary Daniel Laiho and others into custody.
St. Paul Regional Water Services also separated the reservoir from the rest of the distribution system as a precaution. The reservoir holds and supplies approximately 5 million gallons of drinking water for nearby residents. Tests by the state Health Department came back negative for drinking water quality concerns, and the reservoir was placed back into service the following day.
Laiho, of St. Paul, and a 16-year-old Columbia Heights boy were charged last week in Dakota County District Court with felony first-degree criminal damage to property, gross misdemeanor trespassing on critical public service facilities and misdemeanor fleeing a police officer.
A case against a 21-year-old Centerville man has been referred to the West St. Paul city attorney for possible charges, West St. Paul Police Chief Brian Sturgeon said Monday.
According to the criminal complaint against Laiho:
West St. Paul police officers about 10 p.m. responded to a disturbance call at the fenced-in reservoir along Imperial Drive, west of South Robert Street. Dispatch advised that three or four people were seen on top of the reservoir.
An officer saw what appeared to be a person’s head pop up on top of the reservoir before disappearing below the hill. Officers yelled to the suspects to come down off the reservoir and that they were under arrest. They ran off the top of the reservoir, climbed the fence and ran to a nearby residential neighborhood.
Officers found a crowbar near a hatch, which had a damaged lock. A headlamp and black backpack was left behind. A shoe was hanging in shrubbery where the suspects jumped the fence.
Laiho was located in the backyard of a nearby home, while the 16-year-old was found hiding behind a house about a half-mile away. The teen had cuts on his hands and leg, telling officers it happened when he jumped the fence. He said his friends opened the hatch.
Laiho, in an interview at the police station, said he and his friends make fishing videos and they heard there were fish in the reservoir and wanted to see for themselves. Laiho denied that he pried open the hatch, saying his friends did it. He refused to identify his friends.
Police received information about the suspects’ vehicle, a 2012 Ford F-150. Officers saw a headlamp inside similar to the one found at the reservoir. A run of the plates showed it was registered to the 21-year-old, who turned himself in to West St. Paul police later that night.
He said he was with Laiho and the teen when he entered the reservoir. He said someone opened the hatch, but not him. He said nothing was put in the water. He admitted to taking pictures inside the reservoir.
Previous ‘urban exploring’ case
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Laiho was charged by summons and is scheduled to make a first court appearance on the reservoir charges Feb. 18. An attorney is not listed in his court case file.
Laiho has another felony case pending in Anoka County District Court. He was charged in July with second-degree burglary and first-degree criminal damage to property after allegedly breaking into a Blaine home with others in May.
Laiho admitted to going into the home, telling police they “partake in ‘urban exploring’ by exploring abandoned buildings,” the criminal complaint in that case states. He’s pleaded not guilty and a jury trial is scheduled for March.
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