A Cambridge man has been charged with four felonies in connection with a burglary that took place the afternoon of March 31 in Stanchfield Township after the homeowner arrived home and interrupted the burglary.
Anthony Patrick Sarracco, 26, was charged before Judge Amy Brosnahan April 5 in Isanti County District Court in Cambridge with felony burglary, first-degree possession of a dangerous weapon; felony burglary, first-degree assault; felony first-degree burglary of a dwelling; and felony second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.
Dehn set bail for Sarracco at $500,000 without conditions or $250,000 with conditions and his next court appearance for April 14. Several conditions of release were placed on Sarracco including GPS monitoring, no contact with the victim or the residence, no leaving the state of Minnesota without written court approval, no possession of alcohol or drugs, and no use or possession of firearms or dangerous weapons.
The incident occurred around 3:31 p.m. along the 40180 block of Polk Street Northeast. The homeowner, who unknowingly was shot at while he drove up his driveway, was able to confront Sarracco and called 911 while he held Sarracco at gunpoint.
Isanti County Sheriff Chris Caulk said officers arrived on scene within three to four minutes after the 911 call was placed by the homeowner.
“I want to inform the public that this was a random act, and the victim in this case wasn’t targeted because of someone the suspect knew or someone who lived there,” Caulk said. “The public is not in danger because we have the only person in custody that we were looking for in this case.”
Caulk said he is thankful the homeowner was able to remain calm in the situation.
“I just want to remind the public that if they ever see anything out of the ordinary to call 911 and let us investigate,” Caulk said.
Caulk said many agencies assisted the Isanti County Sheriff’s Office at the scene, including Braham and Cambridge police departments, Isanti County Safety and Rescue and the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office crime lab.
“This was a complex investigation and it took us to midnight to process the scene,” Caulk said. “We are fortunate the suspect was still there when law enforcement arrived. This case serves as a reminder that when someone does call 911, it helps law enforcement when they are able to provide clear and concise information. We typically don’t hear ‘We have someone at gunpoint’ when we get a 911 call, but when we do get that call, it really creates some anxiety that we aren’t there at that exact moment. Even though the first officers arrived within minutes, I’m sure it felt like an eternity for the homeowner.”
According to the criminal complaint:
Isanti County law enforcement officers were dispatched in response to a homeowner who had interrupted a burglary. It was reported the homeowner was holding the suspect at gunpoint.
Investigator Wayne Seiberlich was the first officer to arrive. As Seiberlich drove up the driveway of the residence, he observed a male party, later identified as the homeowner, standing in front of the residence.
The homeowner pointed to the rear of the residence, and Seiberlich drove to the rear of the residence and observed a male sitting on the ground facing away from the residence. The male rocked back and forth and was identified as Sarracco.
Sarracco was detained and said he didn’t live at the residence and that he came to the location in a van he had parked down the road to the southwest of the residence.
Southwest of the residence, a van was located and was confirmed as stolen from Cambridge.
Investigator Rob Bowker also arrived on the scene. Upon arrival, Bowker observed a front window to the residence had been broken out and shards of glass were in the landscaping and on a sidewalk in front of the house.
Parked in the driveway in front of the home was the homeowner’s vehicle. The vehicle appeared to have a bullet hole that entered near the passenger side headlight and grill and traveled into the engine compartment through the radiator. Radiator fluid was leaking onto the concrete driveway under the car.
Upon opening the hood, Bowker observed the path of the bullet and noted a hole in the exhaust cover in front of the valve cover. Officers located several pieces of the grill of the vehicle and small metal fragments approximately midway up the driveway.
Bowker interviewed the homeowner who said he had just returned from a trip to town. As he drove up the driveway, he heard a loud “bang.” The homeowner thought it sounded like a gunshot, but believed it was more likely he blew a radiator hose or a tire. The homeowner parked his car in front of his house, and after not seeing anything obviously wrong with the vehicle, he entered his home through the attached garage. As he entered the garage, he observed a manila file folder containing his security system codes and other paperwork lying on the floor. As he entered the house, he saw the wiring had been pulled from his security system and a flower was tipped over on the kitchen floor. Additionally, he saw a 7 mm rifle on the floor with a spent casing under a desk. Neither item should have been there.
At that point, Sarracco walked out of the office area of the home. The homeowner asked Sarracco who he was and what he was doing in his home. Sarracco said, “I had to protect them.”
As Sarracco walked around the south side of the island in the kitchen, the homeowner retrieved a revolver from a kitchen cabinet and held Sarracco at gunpoint. Sarracco began crying and asked the homeowner, “Where are the other people?”
Fearing there were more people in the house, the homeowner called 911 and told the dispatcher he had found someone in his home and he was holding him at gunpoint.
The homeowner said after he called 911, Sarracco opened the patio door and told the homeowner he was going to wait outside.
Shortly thereafter, law enforcement officers arrived and took control of Sarracco. Bowker inspected the home with the homeowner.
Near the entryway on the exterior of the home, an electrical box had been damaged and tampered with. The wires had been pulled from the box and were hanging loose.
It appeared Sarracco had damaged the electrical box in an attempt to disable the home security system.
The service door to the home was damaged and appeared to have been kicked in. There were clear dents near the door knob, the molding around the door was broken, and the door jamb was cracked.
As they entered the home, there were muddy boot prints on the floor consistent with the soles of the boots Sarracco was wearing.
In the kitchen of the home, the security pad had been pulled from the wall.
A camo gun case was on the kitchen table. The homeowner reported his 7 mm rifle had been in the gun case, and the gun had been stored in a different area of the home.
As they entered the office of the home, the homeowner reported he was selling several guns for a friend who had just lost her husband to cancer. The homeowner had stored the guns in the southwest corner of the office.
Two of the guns were now lying horizontally across the office desk chair. The homeowner reported all of the ammunition for the guns had been stored in the garage of the home. Now, a large amount of ammunition was found on the top of the desk in the office.
A window above the desk in the office was broken. Pieces of broken glass were on top of the desk. The window above the desk faces the front of the home and a clear view of the driveway to the home can be seen from this location. Under the desk, Bowker located a spent 7 mm cartridge.
A Remington Model 7 bolt action 7 mm rifle with a Nikon Prostaff scope was found just inside of the office. The bolt of the gun was forward. A live round was in the chamber, and a second live round was in the magazine. The homeowner reported he had never fired the rifle.
Bowker determined Sarracco forced entry into the home and located the 7 mm rifle.
Sarracco retrieved 7 mm ammunition from the garage of the home and loaded the 7 mm rifle with three live rounds of ammunition.
Sarracco fired a single round from the 7 mm through the office window at the homeowner as he drove up his driveway.
The round struck the homeowner’s vehicle near the passenger side headlight and traveled into the vehicle’s engine compartment.