St. Paul man convicted of burglarizing car dealerships faces new charges

Nick Ferraro, Pioneer Press
·3 min read

A St. Paul man convicted of burglarizing auto dealerships and repair shops went back to his old ways after being released from custody in May and into supervised probation, according to new charges filed in two counties.

Adam William Klemmer, who has 24 felony convictions since 2016, faces several more burglary and theft charges after allegedly striking four businesses from late June to late July in Ramsey and Dakota counties. Authorities say additional charges are pending against the 26-year-old after he was identified burglarizing an auto dealership and a church in Maplewood on July 4.

Klemmer’s latest alleged crime spree came to an end on July 29, about three hours after charges say he was seen on surveillance video breaking into the Maplewood Midas at 1415 White Bear Ave., stealing money from a register and trying to start three cars with a key or tool.

Officers spotted Klemmer walking on English Street at state Highway 36, several miles northwest of the business. Klemmer, who had at least two warrants for his arrest at the time, “aggressively” resisted arrest but was taken into custody, according to the criminal complaint filed last week in Ramsey County charging him with second-degree burglary, third-degree burglary, motor vehicle theft, first-degree damage to property, theft and attempted theft.

Klemmer, who declined to give a statement to an investigator, is being held at the Ramsey County jail. He has a second court hearing scheduled for Thursday.

Two days before the Midas burglary, Klemmer was caught on video breaking into Caliber Collision at 1190 University Ave. in St. Paul just before 9 p.m., the complaint alleges. He got into a Hyundai Tucson SUV, rammed a front gate until it opened and drove away in a 2018 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck he stole.

Dakota County prosecutors charged Klemmer with motor-vehicle theft and third-degree burglary on July 8. Video surveillance footage shows him breaking into a car dealership in Inver Grove Heights around 2:30 a.m. June 23, grabbing keys to three cars and making off with one of them, according to the complaint. The car was found ditched in St. Louis Park the next day.

Video surveillance footage also shows him breaking into MC Auto at 1202 Dale St. in St. Paul just after midnight July 21 and stealing an Android tablet and a 2012 Chevrolet Captiva, according to a July 28 complaint charging him with motor-vehicle theft and third-degree burglary.

Klemmer’s 24 previous felony convictions are for burglary, theft of a motor vehicle, theft and receiving stolen property. Seven of them came after a 19-count complaint was filed a year ago alleging Klemmer committed a series of burglaries and auto thefts throughout Ramsey County during an eight-hour stretch in July. Four of the seven burglarized businesses were in Maplewood — Audi St. Paul, Schmeltz Countryside Volkswagen, Eurowerks and AAMCO — while two were in St. Paul and one in North St. Paul.

Klemmer entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors this past March; 11 charges were dismissed at sentencing.

Klemmer was sentenced May 10 by Judge Paul Yang, who stayed a five-year prison sentence and gave him five years of probation. He was also ordered to serve 309 days in the county workhouse — with credit for 309 days already spent in custody — and to pay a restitution to several of the businesses.

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