Habitual St. Paul Burglar Arrested in Golden Valley

A St. Paul woman with an extensive history of burglary convictions has been charged with burglarizing a home in Golden Valley, stealing jewelry, credit cards, money and a can of pop.

Catherine Lael Beckman, 43, is charged with second-degree burglary, a felony with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, signed by Golden Valley Police Officer Kristin Hoefling, a Golden Valley resident called to report a burglary in an area in which a number of other residential burglaries had been reported.

As the officer neared the area, he spotted a woman wearing a sweatshirt and one knitted winter glove walking in the area, despite the 80-degree temperatures.

The officer approached the woman and overheard her asking some landscape workers what road she was on. The officer stopped the woman, later identified as Beckman, and saw items including piggy banks, wallets and jewelry in the bag she was carrying, according to the complaint.

Other officers spoke to the burglary victim, who said he returned home to find his house ransacked and jewelry, credit cards and money missing. He told police that it appeared he had interrupted the burglary, and that the suspect had left through the back door.

Officers found a broken window on the man’s house and pry marks on the patio door.

Police searched Beckman’s bag and found an employment badge with the burglary victim’s name on it, the complaint says. They also found other items that had been stolen from the home, including a can of pop, according to the complaint.

Beckman’s criminal record includes convictions for burglary once in 2001, four times in 2002, three times in 2005 and twice in 2006. She was also convicted of credit-card fraud in 2002 and attempted burglary in 2005.

Beckman remains in the Hennepin County Jail on a $20,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in her case is scheduled Sept. 24 in Hennepin County District Court.