Man Arrested In Colorado Linked To 3rd Precinct Arson
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Brainerd man arrested in Colorado is linked to a fire that destroyed the 3rd Precinct police station in Minneapolis.
According to police in Breckenridge, Colorado, 22-year-old Dylan Robinson was arrested Sunday afternoon in the parking lot of the city's recreation center.
He made his first appearance Tuesday, appearing remotely by video call in front of a federal courtroom judge to face federal arson charges.
Investigators were able to identify Robinson in video surveillance from the Minneapolis 3rd Precinct, dressed in a white shirt with a black stripe. It shows two individuals lighting a Molotov cocktail and throwing it at the building.
Investigators also found video on Robinsons's Snapchat account documenting making a molotov cocktail the night of May 28. In the comments section, Robinson wrote, "These guys have never made a Molotov…rookies," and "We need gasoline."
Tuesday's hearing was relatively standard, but at one point Robinson started to speak after being read his charges before being cut off by the judge who told him for today, "you don't need to admit or deny anything."
Robinson is one in a group of more than two dozen people that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has sought in connection to damage across the Twin Cities.
Of the seven who have already been caught, six are from Minnesota. Four of them within a 40-minute drive to Minneapolis.
Only one of the suspects arrested, Lee Rupurt, is known to be from out of state from Illinois. But federal officials are still searching for at least 14 more suspects and are investigating over 100 fires across the Twin Cities.
They're asking the public to help identify the surveillance photos that capture people destroying banks, a school, and the Police Precinct. Rewards are being offered for tips that lead to an arrest.
