A Minneapolis man with a history of targeting Asian women in St. Paul for the jewelry they wore is jailed and charged with two more incidents that occurred last month outside a Hmong market in the city’s Frogtown neighborhood.
Edward Hollivay (Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)
Edward Hollivay, 60, is charged with felony simple robbery and felony theft for allegedly snatching necklaces off two Asian women who were walking to their cars after shopping at HmongTown Marketplace along Como Avenue, just west of Marion Street.
Hollivay was convicted of similar offenses in 2008 and 2017 and served prison sentences.
In an interview with St. Paul police in 2008, Hollivay told an investigator that older Asian women have more valuable jewelry as part of their culture or religion, according to his latest criminal charges filed Monday in Ramsey County District Court.
Hollivay remains jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail. A call to his public defender for comment was not returned Thursday.
The charges say a 74-year-old woman told police on May 17 that she was walking to her car around noon after shopping at HmongTown Marketplace when a man approached her and asked for the time. He yelled something, grabbed the necklace from her neck and ran off with it.
The woman, who told police the necklace was fake and valued at around $30, had redness on her neck from the attack.
The theft was caught on surveillance video, which shows the man, later identified as Hollivay, grab at the woman’s neck and apparently miss the necklace. He put both arms around her neck and pulled the necklace from her before running toward Como Avenue, the charges say.
Two days later, police were sent back to HmongTown Marketplace on a robbery report. A 55-year-old woman said she was walking to her car after shopping and that a man, later identified as Hollivay, approached her and grabbed hold of her gold necklace, which had a gold Buddha pendant on it.
She said she grabbed the man’s arm, and they struggled over the necklace. He pulled the necklace from her neck and ran to a vehicle with Montana license plates. She chased the man and took a photo of the vehicle and plate.
The woman, who had scratches on her neck, valued the necklace between $5,000 and $6,000 and said it had great sentimental value, the charges say.
That incident was also caught on surveillance video.
Investigation and arrest
Investigators discovered the vehicle belongs to a man who owns a Minneapolis house where Hollivay also lives. Hollivay matches the physical description of the suspect and his phone data places him at the HmongTown Marketplace at the time of the crimes, the charges say.
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On June 6, Hollivay was arrested at a gas station in Rogers on a warrant for missing an April court hearing for a 2023 charge of driving under the influence of a controlled substance, according to court records. He also had a probable cause pickup and hold for his arrest in connection with the St. Paul robberies.
St. Paul investigators drove to the Wright County jail and told Hollivay he was under arrest for a robbery that occurred in St. Paul. “Hollivay asked what took officers so long,” the charges say. “Hollivay then caught himself and asked when the robberies occurred.”
In an interview with investigators, Hollivay admitted that in the past he stole jewelry that he then sold to people on the street. He was shown two photos from surveillance video taken from the robberies. He didn’t say anything while looking at the photos, and admitted the pants worn by the robber look like the same ones he had on when arrested in Rogers.
Criminal history
Hollivay has nine felony convictions dating back to 1990, including three for first-degree aggravated robbery and three for simple robbery.
“In all of Hollivay’s robberies the victims were Asian women who had necklaces taken,” this week’s charges say.
Hollivay was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2008 after pleading guilty to two St. Paul robberies involving jewelry and 6½ years in prison in 2017 after pleading guilty to stealing necklaces off three women outside HmongTown Marketplace and May’s Market on University Avenue in 2016.
Court documents show Hollivay was civilly committed as being mentally ill and chemically dependent in 2022, 2023 and again in March.
In addition to the Wright County case, Hollivay has three additional unresolved felony cases that were filed last year in three other counties and include charges of burglary and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. The cases were put on hold after Hollivay was found mentally incompetent to face the charges.
