Only the other day I was talking to a friend of mine, trying to figure out how somebody could (purely in theory!) cheaply build their own "bait car" and take neighborhood watch TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
Part of what sparked the discussion was my impression the Minneapolis Police Department (god bless them) doesn't utilize bait cars enough.
Well, I was mistaken. They sure do utilize bait cars. And one of those cars allegedly snared a guy named Xia NMN Her-Xiong, who reportedly resides at 2313 Dupont Ave. N. That's his address on the jail roster, but on the criminal complaint his address is 1030 Morgan Ave. N.
A search online turned up the actual criminal complaint filed by the Hennepin County Attorney, rich with juicy detail...
However, the complaint is from 2009. A trial was held and Her-Xiong was found guilty of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Now there has been a "probation violation" on that old charge, and the date the "probation violation" came to the attention of the courts (3/21/12) is a few days after Her-Xiong landed in jail, again. (3/18/12) He has also been convicted in the past on drug charges.
Her-Xiong currently faces court hearings on two possible drug charges, receiving stolen property, and possession of burglary tools. There's information in the roster about taking a motor vehicle, but it's not clear to me whether that represents a new charge or just being held on the alleged probation violation for that old conviction.
In any case, the 2009 bait car incident is of interest and revealing about how MPD uses this crime fighting tool.
According to Officer Wayne Johnson of MPD, on April 20, 2009, officers were reported to a bait car activation. The car had been parked on Irving Ave. N. at at Oak Park Av. The location of the bait car was, of course, based on auto theft data from that area.
An officer located the bait car at 8th Ave. N. and Irving Ave. N. and saw a male exit the vehicle. Xia Her-Xiong was identified as the male. The keys were found in plain view on the front passenger side floor.
And it was all caught on video.
(Loudly, as though to myself, but not really)
Yeah, it's a TERRIBLE idea to steal a car in North Minneapolis. It could be a BAIT CAR.
