A man who took a minivan that had a prize-winning boxer kenneled in the back in South St. Paul has been sentenced to three years of probation.

Timothy Jeffery Borrman, 36, pleaded guilty to motor vehicle theft and was sentenced the same day last month for jumping into the running Chrysler Town & Country at Envision Hotel and driving away on Jan. 8, 2022.

Michelle Baker and Jasper. (Courtesy photo)

The van’s owner, Michelle Baker of Rock Island, Ill., and Jasper, her 2-year-old boxer dog, were in town to compete in the Land O’Lakes Kennel Club Dog Show in downtown St. Paul’s RiverCentre and were staying at the hotel. On the show’s first day, Jasper won the Best of Breed award.

After the theft, South St. Paul police turned to Facebook to get the word out. Borrman was recognized, leading to Jasper being found safe two days later and returned to Baker.

Borrman told police he was on meth and homeless at the time of the theft, the charges said.

A plea deal that Borrman, now of St. Paul Park, reached with Dakota County prosecutors Dec. 20 included a stayed prison sentence, no additional jail time beyond the 180 days he’d already served and the dismissal of a felony drug possession charge filed against him last month.

Pleas on Facebook

Baker told police she parked her minivan in front of the Concord Street hotel about 6 a.m. with the vehicle running as she ran inside to get coffee. She left her purse, phone, wallet and Jasper inside.

She said she saw a man sitting in the hotel lobby, watched him get up, go out the door, get into her van and drive away.

She sent out desperate pleas on Facebook, begging for the return of Jasper, and offered a reward as temperatures fell to the single digits below zero. “I just want my dog back,” she said at the time. “It still isn’t real.”

South St. Paul police circulated photos of the van, the dog and Borrman, who was caught on hotel surveillance video.

“As history has shown us many vehicles stolen during the cold weather months are used for transportation and then dumped,” police wrote in a Facebook post.

Tara and James Wintz recognized Borrman from the photo and knew he was homeless and had been struggling with meth addiction, charges said.

The Wintzes began looking for him at residences he was known to frequent. They found him Jan. 10 at a known drug house in St. Paul and confronted him as to the whereabouts of the van, charges said. Borrman told them he left the van outside another residence in St. Paul and that he did not know a dog was in the vehicle.

The Wintzes went to that address and found the van. With Baker’s permission, they broke the window to gain entrance and found Jasper shivering and hungry, still in his kennel.

“Jasper has been found and is alive,” Baker wrote on Facebook, adding that he “is very cold and hungry but we have him back!!!!!”

Tim Jeffery Borrman (Courtesy of the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office)

The next day, police located Borrman and arrested him.

He said he was visiting a friend at the South St. Paul hotel and heard voices that told him to take the van. He said he drove to a number of friends’ homes before leaving it in front of his cousin’s residence in St. Paul. Borrman said he gave the keys to his cousin.

He also admitted to using meth during this time, charges said.

Conditions of Borrman’s probation include undergoing a chemical dependency evaluation and treatment, if recommended.

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