Man Arrested Breaking Into Garage with Blowtorch, Crowbar

A Hibbing man has been charged with trying to break into a southwest Minneapolis home, using a blowtorch and a crowbar.

Darvin Darnell Hardy, 46, is charged with two felonies in the Dec. 6 incident: possession of burglary or theft tools, which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine, and attempted third-degree burglary, which has a maximum penalty of two and a half years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Minneapolis police responded to a garage in the 3300 block of Girard Avenue South just before 3:30 a.m. Dec. 6 when a neighbor reported a suspicious person using a blowtorch, according to the criminal complaint, signed by Minneapolis Police Sgt. Michael Heyer.

When officers arrived, they spotted the man, later identified as Hardy, wearing dark clothing, crouched near the garage door and using a blowtorch and a crowbar on the door, according to the complaint. Two holes had already been burned through the door, the complaint says.

Hardy admitted to police that he stole the blowtorch and crowbar from a vehicle parked near the garage, and used them to cut holes in the door, according to the complaint. He said he intended to steal items from the garage and sell them, the complaint charges.

Hardy’s criminal record includes convictions for receiving stolen property in 1994, theft in 1992 and 2002 and third-degree burglary in 2010.

Hardy has been released from custody on a $10,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled Dec. 21 in Hennepin County District Court. He is also facing three outstanding warrants in Minneapolis, Scott and Stearns counties.