Eastside Defender

The StarTribune has a story about a burglar suspected in over 150 incidents. From a note over the transom, I am told this fellow may have been involved in a couple big losses for the Northeast Lions Club.

The Lions fund the bulk of their charitable work from pull-tabs and other games in local bars. Over the past year or so, a few of the safes that protect the gaming money have been breached. Losses amounted to tens of thousands of dollars.

The Lions are considering helping the 2nd Precinct get a couple of the devices that helped nab this guy:

Working together, investigators caught Kielb after 3 a.m. on Oct. 12 by going high-tech: They got a court order allowing them to track his car via an attached GPS device, then watched Kielb attempt another job at a Caribou Coffee in Shakopee. As they watched, police listened on radio scanners while an alleged accomplice acted as lookout as they went through their routine. We thought that would be the only way to get him," Arneson said. "He's pretty smart. He knows what he's doing."

The Lions heard a proposal to buy GPS units for our Eastside cops before this story was published. The request is scheduled for consideration at the next Lions Club board meeting.

In the past, the Lions have donated "jaws of life" to Eastside firefighters and window-tint meters to the 2nd Precinct.