Scott Neal, Eden Prairie City Manager

Now that’s a headline! I’ve always wanted to write under a headline like that. Here’s how it went down.

Around 2:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, May 15th, a couple of fellows backed up their car to the Wedding Day Diamonds jewelry store here in Eden Prairie. They smashed the glass doors with hammers to get into the store. With the alarms blaring, they smashed the glass display cases with the same hammers and filled their briefcases with diamonds and other jewels. They got out of the store with an estimated $35,000 in jewels.

The alarm also alerted our police who rushed to the scene. The police got their quickly; just as the alleged jewel thieves started to speed away. A high speed chase ensued between the Police in their standard issue squad cars and the jewel thieves in their black Lexus. During the pursuit officers reached speeds of 120 mph – but the Lexus continued to pull away.

Through the assistance of the Minnesota State Patrol and the Bloomington Police Department, the police eventually got the alleged thieves turned around and headed towards some “Stop Sticks” placed on the road. Stop Sticks are used to pop the tires of fleeing cars to get them to stop. They worked. The alleged jewel thieves gave up after loosing their tires. They are in custody in the Hennepin County Jail charged with felony theft and felony burglary.

Our Police do this kind of thing all the time. They do it well. It just doesn’t always make the news. Hats off to Sgt. Jamie Good, Officer Tom Lowery, Officer Jim Kline, and Officer Emily Eastburn for their work on this case. Eden Prairie citizens can rest assured that you’ve got good people protecting you and your property while you are asleep…….and while you’re awake too.