Two Minneapolis men are facing felony charges after Roseville police connected them to a sprawling burglary spree involving nearly 30 home break-ins and vehicle thefts across the Twin Cities metro area. Aaron Matthew Million, 22, and Laurence John Charette, 26, were each charged with two counts of first-degree burglary, with Million facing two additional counts of theft of a motor vehicle. Investigators say the pair targeted attached garages, at times while residents were home asleep inside.
According to FOX 9, Roseville police escalated their investigation after discovering that residents were inside their homes during multiple break-ins. As 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reports, officers investigated break-ins near Auerbach Avenue North and Sextant Avenue West, two of the cases that led to the formal charges. At the Sextant Avenue West home, a father and son discovered their garage had been entered after a dog woke them, and burglars made off with roughly $5,000 in computer equipment, $600 in cash, a cell phone, a Chevrolet key, and a Kia Forte, while also prying open a small safe.
Garage Remotes Stolen From Unlocked Cars
Investigators say the burglars' method was consistent from house to house: rummaging through unlocked vehicles parked in driveways to steal automated garage door openers, then using those remotes to slip into attached garages. That pattern, detailed by KARE 11, gave the suspects easy entry into homes without needing to force their way inside. At the Auerbach Avenue North home, burglars stole wallets and Toyota Highlander keys while the homeowners were inside. Roseville surveillance video reportedly showed two people wearing headlamps, carrying flashlights, and dressed in light-colored hooded sweatshirts, per the same account.
Cell phone location data placed Charette near both the Auerbach Avenue North and Sextant Avenue West break-ins, according to the station's report. Police also linked a stolen Ford Bronco Sport, which had come from St. Louis Park, to the case, along with a stolen Kia that law enforcement stopped in Minneapolis after finding it traveling with the Bronco Sport. Officers recovered a Chevrolet key from the Kia, along with a headlamp, a probation officer's business card, and a Department of Corrections identification card belonging to Charette inside the Bronco Sport.
Suspects Swapped Vehicles to Evade Police
During the August 10 law enforcement response, occupants traveling in the stolen Ford Bronco Sport abandoned it in Minneapolis and transferred into a stolen black Subaru sedan to evade approaching officers, FOX 9 reported. That Subaru was later linked by police to additional residential burglaries in Golden Valley and Minneapolis, tying the case to property crimes spanning both Ramsey and Hennepin counties.
Million was first arrested on August 7 while driving a stolen Toyota Highlander in Minneapolis, wearing a black tank top matching a photo provided by the Highlander's owner along with a black hooded sweatshirt and a black face covering. He was also carrying a backpack containing Kia keys, a Subaru ignition key belonging to Charette, work gloves, a flashlight, a window punch, and a cell phone believed to have been stolen during a Roseville burglary. Following that arrest, Million told investigators he was homeless, had schizophrenia, had been awake for days using methamphetamine, and was experiencing hallucinations of demonic entities, according to FOX 9. Officers took him to Regions Hospital for a mental health evaluation, and when they later attempted to interview him there, investigators reported that he pretended to be asleep.
Second Arrest, Prior Records, and Court Timeline
Million was re-encountered and arrested again on August 13, this time alongside Charette, as the two were walking toward the stolen Subaru sedan. During that arrest, Million was struck by a Hennepin County Sheriff's vehicle. Police say Million has four prior felony convictions, including first-degree aggravated robbery, fleeing police in a motor vehicle, and two receiving-stolen-property offenses involving motor vehicles.
Charette has previous felony convictions for first-degree aggravated robbery and motor vehicle theft, and he was released from Minnesota Department of Corrections custody on June 18 — less than two months before the Roseville burglary series took place, according to FOX 9. A probation officer confirmed Charette was under active supervision when the break-ins occurred and provided investigators with his phone number. Police also say Charette had property and identification cards belonging to a Roseville resident when he was arrested.
Formal criminal complaints against Million and Charette were filed in Ramsey County District Court on August 11 and August 13, respectively, according to MN CRIME. Both men face felony counts tied to occupied dwellings. Under Minnesota Statute § 609.582, first-degree burglary of an occupied home is a felony carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $35,000, and a mandatory minimum local jail sentence of six months, per the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission. Million and Charette are due back in court on September 3 for an omnibus hearing.
Police say GPS tracking from a stolen iPad taken during a Roseville home entry helped lead investigators to the suspects in Minneapolis, along with cell phone location data that tied the pair to break-ins across county lines. It remains unclear whether additional charges will follow in Golden Valley or Minneapolis for connected vehicle thefts and burglaries linked to the same stolen vehicles.
