Charges: Man & Woman Robbed People In Park With Blowtorch

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A man and woman are accused of threatening people with a blowtorch and stealing property from their hammocks in a Minneapolis park.

According to a criminal complaint, Minneapolis Park Police were dispatched to Triangle Park around 11:30 p.m. on July 31. A group of people told officers a man approached them with a blowtorch and said he was going to "burn [their] faces off."

The victims said they saw a female accomplice with the man. The man used the blowtorch to burn ropes suspending the victims' hammocks. The man and woman then collected the victims' property off the ground and fled, the complaint states.

Neighbors blogged about the incident, including descriptions of the suspects. Someone saw people matching the descriptions and called police on Aug. 4. The couple were detained, and police found property in their campsite reported missing by the victims, the complaint states.

The suspects were arrested and identified as 28-year-old Andrew James Sobaski and 29-year-old Johnna Faye Vanguilder according to the complaint.

Both suspects admitted they were together at the time of the robbery, but Vanguilder said they were in Dakota County. Sobaski admitted he was at the scene of the robbery and took the victims' property.

Sobaski and Vanguilder are both charged with first degree aggravated robbery and remain in custody.