Pair charged in municipal liquor store burglary
Aug. 12—KIESTER — An employee and an accomplice are accused of stealing money from the Kiester municipal liquor store and using a stolen check.
The manager of the Kiester Liquor Store reported Monday over $1,500 was taken from the safe.
The security system was turned off by the intruders, but not until after the cameras caught footage of two people in the store just before 4 a.m. Sunday.
The manager recognized employee Jennifer Cruz Palmer, 37, of Kiester, and a Faribault County sheriff's deputy recognized the other person from prior contacts as Anthony Jerome Woodraska, 32, of Walters, according to a court complaint.
The pair also allegedly were seen on the store's surveillance video Saturday using a stolen check to buy alcohol and get cash back.
Palmer told an investigator she went back to the store in the middle of the night to retrieve her cellphone charger. She denied taking any money.
Woodraska reportedly said Palmer took money and gave him a cut. He also reportedly admitted they passed a stolen check.
Palmer and Woodraska were charged with felony counts of theft and burglary of a government building Wednesday in Faribault County District Court. Woodraska also is charged with false (financial) claims by a public officer, gross misdemeanor misconduct of a public officer, and misdemeanors for identity theft and passing a stolen check.
