Sheriff Rose responds to burglaries in Dodge County

The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office is urging the public to report any suspicious activity and/or vehicles and to make sure you lock up your vehicles, garages, outbuildings and homes after an arrest of two suspects early Wednesday morning who had just burglarized a rural residence in Milton Township in the NE corner of the county.
This morning, January 3rd, at approximately 0116AM, Dodge County 911 Dispatch took a 911 call from a residence in the 52000 block of 227th Ave reporting that there were two people in a vehicle on their property removing two chainsaws from their garage. They then reported that one of the suspects was knocking on their door. The homeowner then let their dogs out and the suspects left the property. The homeowner was able to give a description of the vehicle as the suspects left their property. Deputy’s responding located the vehicle on Highway 57 and stopped it discovering the stolen property in the vehicle along with drug paraphernalia and 2.1 grams of methamphetamine.
The two suspects, 31 year old Jesse Michael Corson from Kasson and 23 year old Austin Scott Bruce from Lake City were arrested and transported to the Steele County Jail. Both suspects appeared before the Honorable Judge Jodi Williamson in Dodge County District Court at 11am on Thursday morning and were formally charged with 3rd Degree Burglary and Felony 5th Degree Possession of Narcotics. Unconditional bail of $40k was ordered for Corson, $10k unconditional bail for Bruce. Corson’s next court appearance is set for January 17th at 11am. Bruce’s next court appearance is set for January 16th at 11am.
We’ve had a number of burglaries and thefts in the area over the past several weeks – mostly unsecured vehicles and buildings and most at rural residences. We also know that Corson and Bruce are not the only ones actively doing this in our area.
It’s so important for us to have citizens watching out for their property and well as their neighbor’s property and report any suspicious activity or vehicles – especially our rural citizens. We have over 300 miles of county roads and over 400 miles of township roads to cover. While our deputies do a great job patrolling their zones, we have a limited number of patrol deputies on at night covering the county and our contract cities - we can’t be everywhere. This is the same challenge all of our neighboring counties have as well. This is why it is so important that law enforcement partner with the public, using their eyes and ears to watch and report any suspicious activity.
There are many things you can do to improve your safety for both your property and your family:
- Lock your vehicles and buildings – In many cases these are crimes of opportunity with homes,
garages and outbuildings left unsecured and vehicles left unlocked with keys and valuables in them. Often victims have said they felt because they lived in the country it wasn’t necessary to lock up everything. We also have victims that say they always lock the doors when they are away, but not when their home – locking your doors when you are gone protects your property, but locking up when you are home helps to protect your most important assets – your family. Please lock up at night when you are home as well. Motion lighting around your home, garage, and outbuildings – Most of these criminals will avoid homes that are lit up as they are paranoid and don’t want to be seen. Yard Light – If you live in the country, yard lights are a great source of light as well as a great deterrent for would-be burglars and thieves. Driveway Sensor – For those that live in the country with long driveways, a great inexpensive addition to your security is a driveway sensor to indicate if someone is pulling in at unusual hours. Camera Surveillance/Alarm System – Security systems have become much more affordable. There are many options for both alarm and camera systems that you can use while you are home and away.
While most have been nighttime incidents, some have occurred during the day. These guys will knock on your door to see if anyone is home – and then attempt to gain entry if there is no answer. If someone answers, they’ll come up with a bogus story about why they are there – looking for a neighbor, responding to a craigslist post, looking for directions, etc. If this happens to you, please call us right away and report it. We’d rather you call in 20 times and they all end up being false alarms versus the one time you decide not to call and someone gets victimized or hurt. If you question it enough to wonder if you should call us....you should call us.
If you are interested in having a security assessment done on your property, Deputy Jeff Brion is our Crime Prevention Specialist – he can come out and assess your property and give you tips on how to make your property and family safer. Call the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office at 507-635-6200 and ask for Deputy Jeff Brion.