Charges: New Ulm thief burglarized home of deceased man
(St. Peter, MN) – A New Ulm man is accused of breaking into a Nicollet County residence and thieving items from the deceased man’s home.
Jordan Lee Drexler, 26, was charged Monday in Nicollet County Court with felony second-degree burglary.
According to the criminal complaint, a man reported to police on May 26th that the Fort Road home of his father – who had recently passed away – had been burglarized. The man told police there were muddy footprints in the kitchen and hall and that the door to the home was open.
Several items were missing from the residence, according to the complaint: a large number of coins, a Magnavox flat screen television, a heater, toolbox, floor jack, chainsaw, and an air fryer.
Court documents say surveillance cameras on the property were used to take still photographs that were posted on Facebook. A Facebook user later identified the man in the photos as Drexler.
In a phone interview with police on May 28th, Drexler was “apologetic” according to the complaint, and offered to “come take everything back.” He retrieved the items from various locations and gave the stolen property to a Nicollet County detective, the complaint says. Police say family members of the deceased confirmed the missing items belonged to their father.
Drexler told investigators that he’d been at Mettler’s bar on the night of Friday, May 24th, had a few drinks and left. He told police the next thing he recalled was waking up in his apartment the following more and finding the items in his car.
Drexler has three previous convictions in Brown County for providing a police officer with a false name and fleeing police in a motor vehicle.
Drexler is due in court on July 9th.
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