Couple Charged with Breaking Into Van in Eden Prairie Park

A St. Paul couple has been charged with breaking into a car in Eden Prairie and stealing a purse, then using a stolen credit card to buy $75 worth of gasoline.

Andre Rodney Zerahn, also known as Andre Rodney Zearhn, 20, and Shantae Deanna-Bruce Zerahn, 26, are each charged with two felonies: possession of burglary or theft tools and credit-card fraud. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, signed by Eden Prairie Police Detective Christopher Millard, police were called to Round Lake Park at about 3:30 p.m. July 31 to investigate a report of a vehicle break-in.

The victim told officers that the front passenger window of her boyfriend’s minivan had been broken, and her purse, which had been on the front passenger seat, was missing.

The woman’s boyfriend told police that he had seen a large gold SUV pull into the parking lot and park next to his vehicle for a few minutes before leaving.

Twenty minutes later, the victim’s Discover card was used at an Eden Prairie convenience store to buy $75 worth of gasoline, according to the complaint. Surveillance video showed a gold Cadillac Escalade at the gas pump at the time the card was used.

Police tracked down the Escalade in Staring Lake Park shortly afterward and identified the occupants as Andre and Shantae Zerahn. They searched the vehicle and found a metal window punch, and Shantae Zerahn turned over three credit cards and a driver’s license that had been hidden in her bra, according to the complaint.

The cards and license were all in the victim’s name, and the Discover card that Zerahn gave to police was the one used to buy gasoline, the complaint charges.

Andre Zerahn directed police to a nearby Life Time Fitness Center, where they found the victim’s discarded purse, according to the complaint.

Both Andre and Shantae Zerahn are scheduled to make first appearances on the charges Oct. 23 in Hennepin County District Court.