Man accused of removing St. Paul sewer grates and dropping them into drains

CBS News

3 days ago

A St. Paul man has been charged for his role in several storm sewer vandalism incidents around the city, announced the Ramsey County Attorney's Office on Friday.
According to court documents, St. Paul has been dealing with repeated incidents since June. Several hundred storm sewer grates were removed and dropped into the storm drains.
Court documents say that on Wednesday, Ramsey County Emergency Communications Center received several reports about a man dropping sewer grates into holes in downtown St. Paul — one incident near Ninth and Temperance Streets and another at Seventh and Wabasha Street. Around 9:45 that morning, a woman fell into a sewer drain that was missing a grate near Ninth and Temperance Streets. At the time, she was carrying a child. The woman reported pain after falling, though the child was uninjured, according to the court documents.
Police were able to view video of the man removing the grates on Wednesday. The next morning, they encountered him outside the Higher Ground shelter in St. Paul. According to the court documents he was wearing the same clothing as seen on the video.
During an interview with police, the 34-year-old man admitted to removing the grates because they were "dirty and needed to be cleaned out." He also admitted to police that he had not been given permission, per the charging documents.
He has been charged with five counts of first-degree damage to property.
Residents are asked to email St. Paul Public Works if there is a drain missing. Police are also asking residents to check home surveillance photos or video if a drain is missing or damaged.