MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 44-year-old Ramsey man is accused of stealing from a park payment box and having stolen property at his residence, according to charges filed Thursday in Anoka County Court.
Richard Dennis Gilligan was charged with one count of possession of burglary or theft tools and one count of receiving stolen property in connection with the incident, which happened Monday.
According to a criminal complaint, Ramsey Police pulled into the Rum River Central Park on the 17000 block of Roanoke Street at about 7:15 a.m. Monday. An officer noticed Gilligan using a yellow bolt cutter to cut the lock off the honor payment box at the entrance to the park. It’s where visitors deposit entrance fees, and park personnel collect the fees when other employees are not at the park.
The officer saw Gilligan trying to cut the lock box open, and when Gilligan saw he was being watched, he threw the bolt cutters under his pick-up truck, the complaint states.
Gilligan told the officer he was trying to cut open the lock box and steal the money for his personal needs, according to the complaint.
Authorities said there have been several thefts from the lock boxes throughout the summer, and a park building had been broken into where a communications radio valued at $1,500 was stolen.
Police executed a search warrant at Gilligan’s residence on Monday, where they found the stolen radio. If convicted on all offenses, Gilligan faces up to eight years in prison and $15,000 in fines.
