St. Paul Man Charged with 3 Separate Thefts from Edina Target

A St. Paul man repeatedly convicted of theft has been charged with stealing electronic items from the store three times in February and March.

Melvin Leroy Henderson III, 24, is charged with felony theft, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Henderson remains in the Hennepin County Jail on a $5,000 bond. He is also being held on outstanding Edina warrants charging him with theft. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled Aug. 20 in Hennepin County District Court.

According to the criminal complaint, loss-prevention specialists from the Edina Target store first began investigating Henderson on Feb. 21 after they saw him select a Nintendo gaming console and a charger, then leave the store without paying for the items, which were valued at $356.

Henderson returned on Feb. 27, and store employees watched him select a backpack, into which he placed $420 worth of "high-value electronics" and other merchandise, then left the store without paying, according to the complaint.

On March 2, Henderson came back to the Edina Target store and began placing electronic merchandise into a duffel bag, the complaint charges. Store employees contacted police, who waited in the parking lot for Henderson and arrested him when he reportedly left with more than $650 worth of stolen merchandise.

Authorities viewed surveillance video of all three incidents and identified Henderson as the suspect in each one, according to the complaint.

Henderson was subsequently interviewed and admitted to stealing from the Edina store twice in February and once in March, the complaint says. He told police that he had pawned some of the stolen items at a pawn shop on East Lake Street.

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