Man arrested in connection with break-ins

The man accused of startling a babysitter while attempting to burglarize a Hay Creek Township home was arrested Thursday by Goodhue County sheriff's deputies.

The man, 20-year-old Tyler Steinhauer, was arrested at Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical's Red Wing campus, where he is a student, on suspicion of first-degree burglary. Formal charges were filed against the Red Wing man late Friday afternoon.

Sheriff's Capt. Pat Thompson said Steinhauer is a suspect in three daytime burglaries from Aug. 9, "and is suspected in several others as well."

"We've definitely zeroed in on one individual and are working on several more individuals," Thompson said.

The Aug. 9 burglaries included a break-in attempt at the Charles Bryant residence, where a 14-year-old babysitter heard a knock at the door and later found a burglar facing her inside the home.

She called police and provided suspect and vehicle descriptions after the burglar fled in a getaway car driven by another male. Officers conducted an intense manhunt in subsequent hours, but did not turn up the suspects at that time.

Thompson said the public was instrumental in cracking the case.

The sheriff's office had alerted community members of the burglaries through the new CodeRed phone notification system. Several individuals provided officers with tips afterward, Thompson said.

Automated pawn system information and other database searches also pointed to Steinhauer, Thompson said.

Thompson said a search warrant was executed at Steinhauer's 510 E. Seventh St. residence, where possibly stolen items were recovered.

The alleged getaway driver also has been apprehended and is cooperating with authorities, Thompson said. He expected charges to be filed soon against that person.

While Thompson suspects Steinhauer and the other person to be responsible for recent burglaries in the Hay Creek and Red Wing areas, he said burglaries in the Cannon Falls area have not yet been solved.

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