ANOKA, Minn. (WCCO) – A 33-year-old man has been charged after allegedly breaking into the back of a van and falling asleep when he got stuck inside.
According to the criminal complaint, someone who used the van for work had driven to the gas station for breakfast from his residence in Columbia Heights. While at the station, the driver noticed that someone had tampered with the back door.
The driver opened the door and found a man later identified as Joshua Olaf Haugan inside.
The charges state that Haugan told the driver that he’d been locked inside the van by two other men after he tried to stop them from breaking into it. When the driver said he was going to contact police about the incident, Haugan ran away.
The work van had sustained about $1,850 in damage because of the break-in.
Fridley Police said that they were able to arrest Haugan, who they said they were familiar with and suspected in a string of recent thefts from work vans.
Haugan has been charged with first-degree damage to property.
