Eric James Yzaguirre Facing Theft Charges Over Alleged Craigslist Robberies, Details From The Criminal Complaint...

Image captured from a YouTube video featuring Eric J. Yzaguirre, blog post by John Hoff

As reported previously on this blog, Eric James Yzaguirre managed to beat all the criminal charges over allegations that he did his baby mama wrong. And he has (or once had) a lawsuit in federal court that was filed as a result of the incident.

The resolution of that lawsuit is unknown to this blogger. If anybody can email me bona fide proof that Eric Yzaguirre walked away one red cent richer, I will faithfully and fairly report that, but until then, I am free to assume otherwise. Click here for previous coverage. 

Currently, Eric Yzaguirre is facing three charges of theft of movable property...

Eric's attorney is Jill Clark, who is mixed up in numerous court cases touching upon North Minneapolis issues and currently facing possible discipline with the Minnesota Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board. She is operating a blog (Jill Clark Is Sinking Like The Bismarck) where she comments in an unclear manner on her disciplinary issues and attempts to wrap her own (likely) ethical lapses in the tattered remnants of secondhand stories about judicial misconduct in, for example, the Third World nation of Zambia.

Eric's mother is Terry Yzaguirre, who pours derision upon numerous positive, well-intentioned efforts in North Minneapolis.

Under the "Johnny Will Write About Issues In Timbuktu If He Damn Pleases" Doctrine (similar to Clark writing about freaking ZAMBIA) I think Eric's legal issues are interesting, and so I will write about them. Arguably, ANY criminal charges against an individual are newsworthy but in major metropolitan areas it's difficult for media to cover everything...versus small towns where even failure to yield might make the local paper. Will social media expand in this direction? Reporting on everybody's criminal charges which are, after all, interesting to SOMEBODY? Arguably, even the most run-of-the-mill criminal proceeding is full of human drama, which is why there are "court watchers" who show up just for the entertainment value.

What to report, how and when to report it, is a fascinating debate about evolving media issues. But let's leave it aside and get to what Eric allegedly did which, if true, is some pretty pathetic and laughable "bottom feeder" crime.

The criminal complaint, which fell into my hands recently, has been revised. As is customary with a revised criminal complaint, lines are written through the deleted sentences of the complaint, which are still readable and, actually, quite interesting. But we will start with what's CURRENTLY in the complaint and backtrack to the deleted portions later.

Robbed People Contacted Through Craigslist (Allegedly)

In three separate incidents, Eric is alleged to have contacted individuals selling electronics on Craigslist, met them at a store, and then ran away with the item in his hand.

Here are the allegations, word-for-word.

Complainant, Patricia Annoni, of the Minneapolis Police Department, has investigated the facts and circumstances of this offense and believes the following establishes probable cause:

(Extensive deleted portions, followed by:)

T.B. reports that on December 21, 2011 he met with ERIC JAMES YZAGUIRRE at a Cub Foods store  in Minneapolis, Hennepin County after Yzaguirre responded to an ad T.B. placed on "Craigslist" to sell an I phone.

(Some paragraph breaks added by JNS blog)

T.B. handed the phone to Yzaguirre. Yzaguirre dropped the phone, picked it up and ran off. T.B. saw Yzaguirre get into a waiting car and leave. The phone was taken from T.B.'s immediate presence without T.B.'s consent. T.B. states the phone is valued at $500.00.

M.T. states that he posted an I phone for sale on "Craigslist" and received a response from a potential buyer asking to meet him at a store at 37TH and Cedar about the sale. M.T. was unable to go and asked D.T. to go for him. D.T. states he took the phone to a convenience store at 37TH and Cedar, Minneapolis, Hennepin county (sic) on October 20, 2011. On arrival he met with ERIC JAMES YZAGUIRRE and handed him the phone. Yzaguirre took the phone, turned and ran. The phone was taken from D.T.'s immediate presence without his consent. M.T. values his phone at $650.00 and also did not consent to Yzaguirre running off with his phone.

S.P. reports that he placed an ad on "Craigslist" to sell an Ipad. He too received a response suggesting they meet at a Cub Foods store to complete the transaction. S.P. met with ERIC JAMES YZAGUIRRE ni (sic) the vestibule of a Minneapolis, Hennepin County Cub store on September 27, 2011. S.P. handed the Ipad to Yzaguirre who then ran off with it from S.P.'s immediate presence. Yzaguirre did not have permission to steal the Ipad from S.P.'s presence. S.P. states the Ipad was valued at $650.

(End of narrative portion of complaint. Remainder lists the statue in question for Theft From Person, a felony punishable by up to 0-5 years and/or $10,000. It should be noted that Eric Yzaguirre has a previous conviction, so that wouldn't help if he were found guilty. The prosecutor in this case is Paul R. Scoggin, whose name appears in a variety of cases, including this very interesting "transvestite goes wild in the public library" case, click here. 

Deleted, But Still Revealing

The deleted portions of the revised complaint provide some helpful information about, well, what the complaint alleged/said at one time.

Prior to revision, the complaint identified the Cub Foods in the S.P. incident as the store at 2860 28th Ave. S. Initially, the caller had identified himself as "Jim." Video surveillance captured the incident, including the suspect leaving in "an older model maroon vehicle."

Prior to revision, the complaint said "A Tri County alert was placed to help identify the suspect." Minneapolis Police Sergeant Hatle identified the male from "previous dealings." S.P. selected Yzaguirre from a sequential photo lineup.

Prior to revision, the complaint identified the "convenience store" in the D.T. incident as the "Quick Mart" at 37TH and "Cedar Avenue South." The friend who owned the phone was identified as "M.C." instead of "M.T." The purported license plate of the maroon vehicle was in the complaint, 384 AUH, and states "officers learned that the car belonged to Jerome Yzaguirre."

All crossed out, now, by lines going through the words are the following sentences: "Officers located Jerome still in possession of the phone. In a voluntary statement, Jerome admitted that Defendant, his brother, was the one that took the phone."

Prior to revision, the complaint identified the Cub Foods involved in the TB incident as the same one involved in the S.P. incident. Furthermore, the allegedly stolen device was specifically identified as an Apple Iphone 4S. The complaint also noted "Defendant is not in custody."

Seizure Of Jerome's Vehicle 

It should be mentioned that JEROME Yzaguirre is suing the Minneapolis Police Department in federal court, along with his mother Terry Yzaguirre, and the lawsuit mentions seizure of a vehicle on December 22, 2011. The final (alleged) Craigslist theft incident was December 21, so it makes sense the seizure of the vehicle stems from this series of (disputed) events.

This blog has not yet reported on Terry and Jerome's joint lawsuit, as I have with Eric's lawsuit, and Nicole's lawsuit. Part of the problem is the lawsuit is such a mess it's hard to untangle, even by Jill Clark standards. But I will report on the lawsuit in the near future.

There is no court proceeding scheduled in Eric Yzaguirre's criminal charges until August. It will be a long time before we know how this ends, whether Eric Yzaguirre will walk...or walk into prison.