Homeless Man Charged with Burglarizing Golden Valley Home

A man with several outstanding arrest warrants has now been charged with burglarizing a Golden Valley home while the residents were sleeping, and then fleeing police in an SUV stolen from the home.

Brandon Ulysses Peterson, 23, who has no permanent address, is charged with two felonies in the May 14 incident: first-degree burglary, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $35,000 fine, and fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, which has a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Peterson remains in the Hennepin County Jail on a $60,000 bond. He is also being held on outstanding warrants in Robbinsdale and Minneapolis for crimes ranging from “lurking with intent” to receiving stolen property. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled June 12 in Hennepin County District Court.

According to the criminal complaint, signed by Golden Valley Police Detective Laura Gould, police responded to a report of a burglary in the 3100 block of Vista Drive on May 15. The homeowners told officers that while they and their three children were asleep, someone broke in and stole cell phones, wallets and a large flat-screen television from the house and a Chevrolet Blazer from the garage.

Police tracked down the Blazer a few hours later and tried to stop the SUV. The driver, later identified as Peterson, jumped out of the vehicle and fled on foot; he was arrested a block away, according to the complaint.

Peterson had one of the victims’ cell phones in his pocket when he was arrested, the complaint charges.

Police later executed a search warrant at the home where the Blazer was recovered, and a woman there told them she had been home the night before when Peterson walked away and returned 45 minutes later driving the Blazer.

Peterson told the woman that he had stolen the Blazer, along with a television and other items, according to Gould’s account.

Peterson’s criminal record includes a 2005 conviction for aiding and abetting first-degree robbery and a conviction earlier this year for receiving stolen property. Peterson served three months in jail for the 2012 felony conviction.