One of three co-conspirators who stole firearms and other valuables from an Esko residence last November received two concurrent prison sentences last Wednesday.
Sara Jean Peterson (aka Sara Jean Anderson), 31, of Duluth was sentenced in Carlton County Court to 23 months on one felony count of aiding and abetting the theft of firearms and/or property valued over $35,000, and 48 months on one felony count of aiding and abetting second-degree burglary.
Both sentences were stayed for four years and Judge Robert Macaulay ordered her to undergo supervised probation. She must also pay restitution in the amount of $3,807.97 along with her co-defendants.
The criminal complaint filed against Peterson states that on Nov. 4, 2013, at approximately 5 p.m., deputies from the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office responded to the report of a residential burglary in the 100 block of East Palkie Road in Esko. The owners of the home reported that while they were gone for the day, their home had been invaded and many items of value were stolen. Included in the theft was a Springfield XD 9mm handgun, along with several other items.
Sheriff’s deputies immediately launched a search for the perpetrator(s) but were unsuccessful.
ADVERTISEMENT
Then, on Nov. 27, 2013, several individuals in a burglary ring were arrested by authorities from the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office and the Hermantown Police Department for various burglaries committed in St. Louis County. While searching property in possession of the alleged burglars, investigators located many items belonging to the Carlton County residents. Subsequent questioning of the accused individuals yielded information that they had committed the burglary on Palkie Road on Nov. 4.
The individuals involved in the incident were identified as Jason Ryan Oliver, 29, of Duluth; Danielle Ettwina Felver, 25, of Duluth; and Peterson. They told authorities that in committing the burglaries, they would drive their vehicle up to a house that they intended to burglarize. Oliver would then approach the house and knock on the door. If somebody answered the door, one of the two women would create a ruse, saying that they were at the wrong residence. If nobody answered the door, then Oliver would break into the house and take as many objects as he could in a quick period of time, in particular trying to steal items that would be easily traded or sold for synthetic drugs. Peterson and Felver would remain in the motor vehicle and provide getaway protection, notifying Oliver if anyone was coming.
Authorities learned that the three conducted this exact ruse at the Palkie Road address, at which time they stole the handgun and the other items.
Since all three defendants equally split the proceeds from the burglaries, they were all found to be culpable in the crime.
Charges against Felver were dismissed in Carlton County as part of a plea agreement in St. Louis County, where she was sentenced in nine burglary cases, placed on probation for 10 years and directed to the supervision of drug court.
Oliver, who has already accrued an extensive criminal history, was sentenced to prison in St. Louis County for nine burglary cases, with a guideline sentence of 44-60 months. He is scheduled for sentencing in Carlton County at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 10.
Peterson pled guilty for her role in six burglary cases in St. Louis County earlier this summer and was granted a sentencing departure and ordered to report for review hearings every two weeks. At one point, however, she tested positive for drugs and was sent to jail, delaying her sentencing in Carlton County until her late August release. Her sentence in Carlton County is to be served concurrently with her sentence in St. Louis County.
