A Cromwell man who was arrested in July 2011 for burglarizing a vacant Cloquet home and stripping copper out of the residence is back in court after being caught burglarizing another home in rural Carlton County.
Larry James Ankarlo, 35, was charged with felony third-degree burglary in Sixth District Carlton County Court April 17.
According to the criminal complaint, on April 15 a deputy from the Carlton County Sheriff's Department responded to a call reporting a suspicious vehicle parked near a house on Highway 210 that had recently been burglarized. When the deputy checked on the residence, he found Ankarlo inside the home.
After he arrested Ankarlo and brought him to the law enforcement center in Carlton, Ankarlo allegedly admitted the door to the home was open so he went inside.
He was charged with entering a building without consent and with the intent to commit a crime and released on his own recognizance. An omnibus hearing is set for April 30.
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In addition to being on probation for his crimes of last summer, there was an active warrant for Ankarlo at the time of his most recent arrest. The warrant was issued after Ankarlo failed to return to the Carlton County Law Enforcement Center after being allowed to leave the jail for a family medical emergency on Feb. 17 - when he had only 30 days of his local sentence left to serve.
Ankarlo had been in jail after pleading guilty in November to second-degree burglary charges filed last June and July. At that time, he was sentenced to serve six months in jail with credit for 105 days already served, and placed on three years' probation.
The July 2011 charges were filed after Cloquet Police officers apprehended Ankarlo and Nicole Anderson, 29, stripping copper from a vacant home on the 600 block of Maple Street after a neighbor reported a suspicious vehicle behind the house.
According to that criminal complaint, when police detectives arrived, Ankarlo claimed that he lived at the home which he said was owned by a relative. However, officers observed Anderson gathering up copper that had been stripped from the residence. Both Ankarlo and Anderson were arrested and charged with second-degree burglary. In addition, Ankarlo was charged with possession of a hypodermic needle which authorities found during the pat-down, a charge that was later dismissed under the terms of the plea agreement.
Ankarlo also had been charged with theft and receiving stolen property in October 2010 and was convicted of the "receiving stolen property" charge in a court trial in April 2011. According to court documents, he still owes $260 from that case.
In an interview during last summer's rash of copper thefts, Cloquet Police Chief Wade Lamirande said thieves may steal copper to get money for a drug habit.
The police chief noted that the best thing residents can do is get the license plate number and description of the car and/or suspects and alert law enforcement of any suspicious activity they see at a home they know to be vacant, such as foreclosed properties.
