Police are investigating a series of residential burglaries in Sunfish Lake, a small, affluent Dakota County suburb, that have targeted high-end homes.

Four have been reported since late September, with the most recent discovered Monday, according to Brian Sturgeon, police chief of West St. Paul, which provides police services in Sunfish Lake.

The burglaries have been similar to more than 60 other cases in the metro area and others nationally that have targeted professional athletes. Law enforcement agencies have been investigating burglaries at high-end homes since last November in Eagan, Richfield, Minneapolis, Edina, Minnetonka, Fridley, Medina, Minnetrista and Orono, according to WCCO-TV and KARE-TV. Timberwolves player Mike Conley’s home in Medina was burglarized in September.

In Sunfish Lake, the homes of a professional athlete and people who are known in the business community have been targeted when homeowners haven’t been home, according to Sturgeon. “Small, expensive stuff” such as jewelry and cash have been stolen, he said.

“We know that they’re using some sophisticated techniques in order to determine” when people at the home are leaving and where exterior cameras are situated on homes, and the burglaries have been the work of more than one person, Sturgeon said.

Sturgeon said Monday afternoon that police were still on the scene of the burglary discovered that day, and he didn’t have definitive information about which athlete’s home had been burglarized.

Sunfish Lake Mayor Dan O’Leary wrote on the city’s website Saturday that the third burglary happened Friday night. Police “had K-9s and helicopters as well as 15 officers searching throughout SFL last night using powerful floodlights to shine into the woods,” he said.

Police are reminding people to set their security alarms, even if they are only leaving for a short time, and to call police if they see suspicious activity.

“Until these burglaries can be stopped (and I can assure you the police, Dakota County … and the FBI are doing all that they can to find the perpetrators) I ask all of you to be especially vigilant around your property,” O’Leary wrote.

Burglaries in Sunfish Lake, with a population of just over 500 and a median home value of nearly $1.2 million, are “extremely unusual,” Sturgeon said.

Related Articles

St. Paul man gets nearly 3½ years in prison for ‘cruel’ robbery of pricey dog on Payne-Phalen walk

St. Paul man, 24, dies more than a week after being shot at University and Rice

3 attacks, 1 fatal, and no action: Who is responsible for GiGi the dog’s demise?

Family of Minnesota missionary slain in Africa is stymied by lack of information

Man shot and killed in Pine City, Minn.; suspect in custody, police say