MINNETONKA, Minn. — Their case got widespread attention when a Minnetonka family shared their horrifying experience.
Craig Beeson's wife and 13-year-old son were attacked and carjacked by four people on Aug. 17 in their own driveway after returning home from grocery shopping.
"You can imagine, it's a pretty traumatic event," Beeson said.
Romell Lewis, 21, was arrested a month after the August attack, and police began to learn the case ran much deeper than one carjacking.
Minnetonka Deputy Chief Jason Tait says Lewis is actually the leader of a car theft ring that has been targeting residents of the west metro. Lewis is now charged in 10 additional thefts.
"It really is amazing how prolific this group was in being able to go out and steal this amount of cars in that short of time," Tait said.
According to the criminal complaint, the crimes happened before and after the high-profile carjacking in the Minnetonka driveway — thefts of high-end cars right out of homeowner's garages and driveways starting on July 16 in Edina — and stretching throughout the month of August.
Many of those cars had GPS tracking, including the Porsche SUV carjacked in Minnetonka, which police tracked to the Walgreens at 50th and France in Edina. There, surveillance video captured a clear image of Lewis's face, according to court papers.
GPS tracking is also what pointed police to Milwaukee, where Lewis is allegedly from when he's not living in Minneapolis with his grandmother. Investigators say the defendant took some of the stolen cars and sold them in Milwaukee.
"There's a nexus to that where they're able to go out there and quickly dispose of the stolen cars," Tait said.
When he was finally arrested, police searched location data on Lewis' phone, which is when police tied together the cases.
"That information we obtained through that warrant was able to place our suspect at other locations where these crimes have been committed. And that's how we were able to make additional charges in this ring," Tait said.
New charges just filed today in Dakota County say at the end of the August crime spree, Lewis broke into an Apple Valley home and stole two guns including an AR-15.
Police often say a small number of people are responsible for a large share of carjackings and thefts -- and Minnetonka police believe that is the case in the west metro involving this ring allegedly led by Lewis.
"We strongly do believe that," Tait said.
One other suspect is charged in the Minnetonka carjacking but he still hasn't been found. Minnetonka police believe a number of juveniles are also involved, often used by the adult suspects to avoid consequences.
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