Man Charged with Burglarizing Wayzata Jewelry Store

A St. Louis Park man suspected in a series of commercial burglaries in Minnetonka has been charged with breaking into a Wayzata jewelry store last month and stealing more than $4,000 worth of rings.

Justin Grant Evans, 36, is charged with third-degree burglary, a felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Evans remains in the Hennepin County Jail on a $40,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled April 24 in Hennepin County District Court.

According to the criminal complaint, compiled by Wayzata Police Department Lt. Mike Murphy, police responded to a business alarm at Graham Jewelers just after 6 a.m. March 29.

Police discovered that someone had broken into the store and taken $4,195 worth of rings from a display case. The break-in was captured on surveillance video.

It was the second time this year Graham Jewelers had been burglarized.

A Minnetonka police sergeant was shown a still photo from the surveillance video and identified the suspect as Evans, who is also being investigated in a number of commercial burglaries in Minnetonka on March 28 and 29, according to Murphy’s account.

Police executed a search warrant at a Richfield home and found several of the rings stolen from Graham Jewelers, the complaint says.

Evans is currently on parole for a felony weapons conviction. His lengthy Minnesota criminal history includes convictions for theft in 2004, 2007 and 2008, making terroristic threats in 2004, aiding and abetting burglary in 2005 and 2008, third-degree burglary in 2008 and 2009 and credit-card fraud in 2008.