Predatory Offender Arrested in Eagan Faces Five Felony Charges

A Minnesota man who is required to register as a predatory offender has been charged with five felonies, including failing to notify authorities that he has been living in Eagan since July and threatening to kill the woman with whom he was living.

Michael Theodore Levine, 27, is charged with stalking, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine; and making terroristic threats, manufacturing marijuana, credit-card fraud and failing to notify authorities of his new address, each of which has a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Levine was convicted in 2003 in Hennepin County of theft in a case in which charges of kidnapping and impersonating a police officer were dismissed. He is required under Minnesota law to register as a predatory offender and keep authorities notified of any change of address.

Levine remained in the Dakota County Jail Tuesday on a $40,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled Nov. 14 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim and her mother came to the on Sunday to ask for help in getting Levine out of the victim’s home.

The victim was “extremely upset and had difficulty talking,” according to the complaint. She told police that she met Levine in June and that he moved in with her in July.

One night in mid-August, Levine became extremely drunk and bit the victim severely on her upper right arm, the complaint says. The bite broke the victim’s skin and became infected.

In September, Levine became “extremely verbally and physically aggressive” toward the victim, she told police. On Sept. 19, as she prepared to leave on a trip to New Orleans, he became violent and yelled at her; when she returned, he accused her of being unfaithful, dumped a decanter of gin on her and then held a lighter over her head, threatening to kill her, according to the complaint.

Earlier this month, Levine threw a wine bottle toward the victim, she said. She said he had thrown other items and damaged her property, and told police that she was “extremely frightened” of him.

While the victim was in New Orleans, a new debit card had arrived in the mail at her home. She discovered that someone had activated it without her authorization and made a $300 withdrawal from an ATM in Eagan.

Police contacted the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s predatory offender unit and learned that Levine had registered his address as “homeless” in July and was required to contact the bureau weekly. Authorities said he hadn’t checked in since Aug. 4, and that he had not notified them that he was living in the Eagan woman’s home.

After talking to the victim and her mother, police went to her home and encountered a “shirtless and sweaty” Levine coming from the home’s attached garage, according to the complaint.

During a search of the premises, police found a marijuana-growing operation in the rafters of the garage. A stairway leading to the rafter area had been constructed, and several support beams in the garage had been cut to provide access to a flat area in the rafters.

Police found several areas in the garage’s electrical system where wires had been spliced to provide power to hanging lights above about 40 marijuana plants.

In the home’s lower level, police found several glass pipes with marijuana residue, containers of marijuana seeds, individually packaged bags of marijuana and handwritten instructions on how to grow marijuana, the complaint says.

Police also found a piece of paper with what appeared to be a handwritten diagram for the loft and grow room that was under construction in the garage.

Levine was arrested and taken to the Dakota County Jail. He admitted to police that he had used the victim’s debit card without her consent.

In addition to the theft conviction in 2003, Levine’s Minnesota criminal record includes a conviction for car theft in 2002 and check forgery and credit-card fraud in 2003. He also has a criminal record in Florida.