'Like something out of Starsky and Hutch': Woodbury police arrest burglary suspect after chase

Jul. 21—A man caught in the act while stealing from a storage-unit facility in Woodbury earlier this month, police say, was arrested after leading officers on a foot chase on Interstate 94.

Officers spotted Timothy Flores, 40, of West Lakeland Township, at Public Storage on July 6 while taking a burglary report from a Woodbury man who said numerous items from his extensive hobby collection had been stolen from his unit. Included in the list of $15,000 in stolen items: rare airplane models, a Bandai Star Wars Millennium Falcon model kit, an ERTL Mack Rubber Duck Convoy model kit and a snow blower.

Flores allegedly removed the lock securing the man's storage unit, took multiple items from inside, and then re-secured the unit using a different lock. "He had to have made several trips," the owner of the items said Tuesday. "He could not have taken it all in one go."

The Woodbury man, who asked that his name not be used over safety concerns, said he was last inside his storage unit on May 29, and his snow blower and boxes of rare model airplanes, ships, trucks and tanks were in the locked unit when he left.

While he and Officer James Stoffel were talking, a Public Storage employee came up to them and said a man, whom she suspected was involved in past burglaries, "was back at the facility and was moving items out of a storage unit one aisle over," the complaint states.

Stoffel got into his patrol car and drove over to the adjacent aisle to investigate. As Stoffel pulled into view, Flores quickly got into the driver's seat of a white 2008 Pontiac Vibe and sped off, the complaint said. Items flew out of the car's rear door as he drove away.

Stoffel, in his patrol car with the lights and siren activated, pursued Flores, who drove through the large chain-metal security fencing surrounding the facility. Flores then crashed and fled on foot; Stoffel was able to catch him in the center median of I-94, according to the complaint.

"It was like something out of 'Starsky and Hutch,'" said the Woodbury man, referring to the 1970s TV series.

Stoffel was injured in the chase and was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was treated and released, Woodbury Police Cmdr. John Altman said.

Flores, who has an extensive criminal history, initially gave a false name and date of birth to police.

A woman, who had been a passenger in Flores' vehicle, was found using a cellphone app that was broadcasting area police dispatch audio. Inside the car, police found a large pair of bolt cutters, a package of padlocks that matched the one placed on the Woodbury man's storage unit and the snow blower.

Also in the Pontiac, which had also been stolen, "was a black backpack that was found to contain a large quantity of suspected methamphetamine and a Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm handgun," the complaint states.

Because Flores has numerous criminal convictions for crimes of violence, he is not allowed to possess any firearm or ammunition, according to the complaint. He faces 10 charges, including eight felonies, in connection with the Woodbury incident. He is being held at the Washington County Jail.

Investigators executed search warrants at a house in Minneapolis, storage units in Woodbury, and a residence in Finlayson, Minn., in connection with the case, Altman said. They recovered three ATVs, one trailer, several firearms and property from five Woodbury storage-unit burglaries.

They also have linked Flores to burglaries in Minneapolis and Pine County, he said. In addition, two stolen vehicles were found, including one from Minneapolis that was recovered in Welch, Minn., and another that was stolen from Ellsworth, Wis., which was recovered in Finlayson.

Flores is a suspect in several other crimes, including underground-garage burglaries and residential burglaries, Altman said. In Woodbury, detectives have him tied to roughly $40,000 in losses, not including the stolen vehicles he's been associated with and other property recovered that was taken from other cities, he said.

"Detectives have advised other unit renters to check their storage units," he said.