Crime & Safety

Eden Prairie Woman Charged with Stealing $1,400 in Library Books

Police believe Monica Elizabeth Brase stole new bestsellers from the Eden Prairie Library and then tried to sell them to a book store.

A 26-year-old Eden Prairie woman has been summonsed to court on a felony theft charge.

Police believe Monica Elizabeth Brase stole library books from the Eden Prairie Library valued at $1,408. 

In November, police received a report that numerous thefts of library books had occurred and the suspect was identified as Brase.

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The library was contacted by a independent bookseller in Minneapolis and told that someone named Monica had tried to sell 40 books, according to the complaint. The bookseller noticed that the books were bestsellers in new condition and had sticky residue on them as though a label had been removed.

The bookseller said when Brase was confronted, she admitted the books came from a library. Many of the titles were confimed stolen at the Eden Prairie Library.

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Police say Brase admitted stealing books from the Eden Prairie Library and that half the books were in her car and the other half in a dumpster. Officers recovered the books from both places. 

Brase has previously been convicted of a gross misdemeanor theft in the past 5 years.

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