Man Charged with Burglarizing Construction Trailer in Maple Grove

A Champlin man has been charged with burglarizing a Hennepin County construction trailer in Maple Grove and stealing items that he said he intended to sell.

Joseph Steven Swenson, 35, is charged with third-degree burglary, a felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, signed by Maple Grove Police Detective Robert Seidenkranz, police in Champlin found a collection of items hidden in tall grass and weeds beneath a pedestrian bridge on July 8. Among the items were two bicycles which had been reported stolen from a Champlin home.

Police also found backpacks containing scientific calculators, laptop computers, power cords, a precision laser tool and a number of other items, including a black jacket with the name “Westwood” in red on the back and a prescription bottle with the name “Joseph Swenson” on it.

Champlin police said they were familiar with Swenson, and that he essentially lives beneath the bridge.

Police spotted Swenson about 5:30 p.m. and arrested him on suspicion of stealing the bicycles. During a patdown, they found screwdrivers and a spring-loaded center punch in his pocket, according to the complaint.

During an interview with police, Swenson admitted to breaking into a construction trailer in Maple Grove owned by the Hennepin County transportation department, parked on the northwest corner of Weaver Lake Road and Norwood Lane, the complaint says. He said the items that police found beneath the bridge were stolen and that he intended to sell them to make money.

Maple Grove police found the front door of the construction trailer standing open, with a broken window on the right of the door. A county employee confirmed that the items found in Champlin had been stolen from the trailer.

Swenson is free on a $20,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled Aug. 30 in Hennepin County District Court.