Update: Suspects Charged Following Arrests For Carjacking, Vehicle Thefts And Robberies In St. Louis Park

Press release from the City of St. Louis Park:

January 19, 2022

Update: On Jan. 21, 2022, the two suspects referenced below were charged in Hennepin County District Court. Both were charged with multiple felony crimes and bail was set at $250,000 each. Read the complaints for Kashwan Jason Wertman and for Nautica Alaja Argue.

On Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, at around 1:15 p.m., St. Louis Park police officers responded to the 2700 block of Louisiana Court South in St. Louis Park on report of a robbery. Suspects threatened to shoot an adult female driver, then took her car keys. The suspects left in both the victim’s vehicle and a second vehicle which was determined to be one stolen in St. Louis Park earlier in the week.

The St. Louis Park Police Department, in collaboration with more than 12 local, county and state agencies, determined that the suspects in this case were KASHWAN JASON WERTMAN (9-8-03) and NAUTICA ALAJA ARGUE (10-28-02), both St. Paul residents. Further investigation led investigators to determine that Wertman and Argue were suspects in many other incidents, including eight in St. Louis Park. Incidents include:

• One 1st Degree Aggravated Robbery – St. Louis Park
• Six 2nd Degree Aggravated Robberies – St. Louis Park, White Bear Lake, Roseville, Richfield, Brooklyn Center and Woodbury
• 13 Simple Robberies – St. Louis Park (6), Columbia Heights (2), Plymouth, Roseville, Edina and Ramsey County
• One Attempted Simple Robbery – Eagan
• One Motor Vehicle Theft – St. Louis Park
• One Flee Police in Motor Vehicle – Ramsey County

On Jan. 18, St. Louis Park Investigators issued a probable cause arrest notice to area law enforcement agencies and provided information that Wertman and Argue were believed to be driving a silver Audi TT, taken Jan. 16, in a robbery from an adult female victim in the 5500 block of Cedar Lake Road in St. Louis Park.

At approximately 6:18 p.m. Jan. 18, the stolen Audi was located and fled from law enforcement officers. St. Louis Park officers were not involved in the subsequent pursuit that proceeded through numerous cities. The vehicle eventually stopped and its occupants, Wertman and Argue, were arrested in St. Paul in the 1700 block of Maryland Avenue East. The suspects were found to be in possession of evidence connected to the other incidents above. Both suspects remain in custody in the Hennepin County Adult Detention Center in Minneapolis and have been questioned by St. Louis Park police investigators.

Wertman was charged in an April 11, 2021, aggravated robbery involving use of a firearm occurring in St. Louis Park. At the time of last night’s arrest, Wertman had multiple active arrest warrants, including one stemming from that incident. Five others included 2nd Degree Assault, Motor Vehicle Theft, Domestic Assault and Tampering with a Motor Vehicle.

The case file described above, and related cases covering crimes attributable to Wertman and Argue, are being submitted to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for charging. Other charges will be submitted to the Ramsey and Washington county attorney’s offices.

Other ongoing investigations in St. Louis Park and other jurisdictions with connections to Wertman and Argue will result in charging submissions in the future.

Special thanks to Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office investigators and analysts and to officers and deputies from the Minneapolis Police Department, St. Paul Police Department and Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in locating the suspects and stolen vehicles involved.

The St. Louis Park Police Department will continue to investigate additional related incidents in the coming days. Anyone with additional information on any related cases should call the St. Louis Park Police at 952.924.2600.

The law enforcement efforts that led to the arrests of Wertman and Argue are a successful first step in confronting those responsible for the violence that has impacted so many victims directly. It is also a critical step toward combating the increase in violent crime that has plagued so many communities of late. Law enforcement’s continuing partnerships with one another, and our vigilance in taking on this violent crime, is a responsibility taken seriously by our agencies and is a reflection of our commitment to those in our communities that we serve and have sworn to keep safe.

This press release was produced by the City of St. Louis Park. The views expressed here are the author’s own.