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Crime & Safety

Mound Man Sentenced for Failed New Year's Break-in

Burnsville police found Sean Joseph Kacer, 25, disoriented and bleeding, kicking a glass patio door in an apparent attempt to break into a home near Nicollet Junior High.

A 25-year-old Mound man has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for trying to break into two Burnsville homes with only his feet and his bare hands on New Year's Day 2012.

On Aug. 22, Sean Joseph Kacer pleaded guilty to two counts of damage to property, both gross misdemeanor level offenses. In exchange, the court dismissed two felony burglary charges against Kacer.

Thus ended one of the more bizarre incidents in Burnsville's criminal annals, which began when police were called to the 13000 block of 4th Avenue South during the wee hours of New Year's Day 2012. The call came in from two residents who awoke to a strange noise. It sounded like someone was on the roof, they told authorities. The couple then went to the main level of the house, where they saw a man inside their locked porch, bashing the interior door with his feet. The intruder had busted through the screen door, broken a window and smashed a lamp that had been inside the porch. The pair saw the man move around to the front, where he tried to kick in the front door. 

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When officers arrived at the scene they found the man, later identified as Kacer, banging away at the back door again. Kacer was covered in blood and appeared extremely intoxicated. According to the original criminal complaint, Kacer didn't know where he was and he was not able to answer any of the officers' questions. Kacer was arrested and taken to hospital to be treated for a number of superficial cuts on his hand and a serious gash on his left wrist.

Upon further investigation, police saw that the suspect's footsteps led to a neighboring house, where dirt and snow had been smeared in the middle of the garage service door, indicating it had likely been kicked. Officers met the neighbor, who said he had found blood inside the garage, as well as both the garage door and front door. One of the door frames had been significantly damaged. Officers collected DNA evidence from both homes. 

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Kacer was originally charged with one count of burglary in the first degree, a felony which carries up to 20 years in prison and $35,000 in fines, second-degree burglary, and two counts of fourth-degree criminal damage to property.

Kacer has only one previous conviction—a violation of open container law in Carver County. 

None of the associated court documents hinted at a possible motive for Kacer's actions. In the petition to enter a plea of guilt, Kacer stated that he had obtained a bachelor's degree, had no history of mental illness, and was not so drunk or under the influence that he didn't know what he was doing at the time.

Judge Tim McManus sentenced to Kacer to 365 days in jail, but stayed 335 days of the sentence for two years, and imposed two years of supervised probation. He is to serve 30 days in jail, with credit for four. Kacer was also ordered to pay $2,385 restitution and undergo a chemical dependency evaluation.

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