Duluth man drives woman to airport in taxi, allegedly burglarizes her home
A former newspaper carrier accused last year of using his knowledge of when homeowners were on vacation to burglarize their homes has been criminally charged with burglary again.
Michael Dean Peters, 45, of Duluth was free on bail and awaiting sentencing for those crimes and working as a cab driver when he allegedly burglarized a home last week.
He was charged today with second-degree burglary in State District Court in Duluth. He is being held at the St. Louis County Jail on $100,000 bail.
According the Duluth Police Department, officers received a report of a residential burglary in the 1000 block of Berwick Court on April 11. The caller, who was watching the house while its resident was out of town, had discovered a broken window and an open side door. A box of silverware valued at more than $6,000 was missing.
Duluth Police Crime Scene investigators located a shoe print with a distinct pattern inside of the home. They also noted the similarities to eight earlier burglaries that Peters committed.
On Thursday the resident of the Berwick Court burglary contacted investigators and told them that one of the few people who knew she was leaving town was Peters, who drove the taxicab she rode to the airport.
Police executed a search warrant on Peters’ residence Friday, finding him wearing a pair of shoes that appeared to match the shoe print left inside Berwick Court house. Peters was taken into custody and held until formal charges were filed.
Peters was charged last year with stealing jewelry and silverware from the home he knew were vacant because of his job as a Duluth News Tribune carrier. He pleaded guilty of eight burglaries on Jan. 25.
A search of Minnesota court records found that Peters also has a 2001 conviction for felony burglary, a 2002 conviction for misdemeanor theft, a 2002 conviction for a traffic offense and a 2003 conviction for issuing a dishonored check.