Hennepin County Attorney’s Office Charges Alleged Minnetonka Carjacker in 9 Additional Incidents

Romell Lewis charged by Hennepin County Attorney’s Office with additional burglary and high-end motor vehicle thefts from homes in Edina, Minnetonka

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced today that the office has charged Romell Roshode Lewis in nine incidents involving burglary and the theft of high-end motor vehicles from homes in Edina and Minnetonka between July 16 to August 30, 2023. Lewis was previously charged by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office on September 8 with a carjacking that occurred in Minnetonka on August 17. The location of Lewis’ phone and his distinctive hooded sweatshirt were key pieces of evidence connecting him to these incidents. The new counts are added to Lewis' existing case (27-CR-23-19153). Lewis will be in court next on Monday, October 16.

“Mr. Lewis appears responsible for a significant number of recent high-end motor vehicle thefts from the west metro,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said. “While no weapons were involved, these were brazen incidents, any of which could have turned violent if an unsuspecting homeowner happened upon Mr. Lewis, like happened in Minnetonka on August 17 when a homeowner and her son were assaulted. These additional charges were possible because of the hard work and significant collaboration between our attorneys and local law enforcement.”

Among the new charges is a count of motor vehicle theft for the taking of the grey Mercedes that Lewis can be seen arriving and fleeing in during the carjacking in Minnetonka August 17. Lewis is suspected to have been involved in additional incidents that remain under investigation. Details of the new charges are below.

July 16, 2023

On July 16, 2023, a known adult male (victim 3) parked his Infinity sedan in his driveway off Parkwood Road, in the City of Edina, County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota. Victim 3 believes he left the keys and his wallet in the car. A few hours later, victim 3 noticed that his car was gone. Victim 3 was notified that his credit card was used at a Walgreens in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, shortly after his car was taken. On July 28, 2023, victim’s vehicle was located in Milwaukee. Investigators obtained a search warrant for defendant’s phone data, which included location data. On July 16, defendant’s phone is in the area of victim 3’s home during a time period that the vehicle could have been taken. Defendant’s phone is also in the area of the Robbinsdale Walgreens when victim 3’s credit card is used at the location. Officers were able to track defendant’s phone, which showed it traveling from the Twin Cities to Milwaukee on July 18, 2023, ultimately traveling to the area where victim 3’s vehicle was found.

August 2, 2023

On August 2, 2023, a known adult female (victim 4) was at her home on Stonewood Court, in the City of Edina, County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota, when she observed that her Mercedes was stolen out of her garage. Victim 4 viewed the surveillance video from her home and observed that at approximately 2:30 p.m., two people enter her garage and leave in her vehicle. Victim 4 was able to track her vehicle via GPS and saw that it was traveling to St. Paul. St. Paul police ultimately recovered the vehicle off of Wilson Ave in St. Paul at approximately 5:15 p.m. It was determined that Defendant’s phone was in the area at the time and location of the theft of victim’s vehicle. Defendant’s phone was also shown traveling from victim 4’s residence to St. Paul, and ultimately to the location where victim’s vehicle was located.

August 5, 2023

On August 5, 2023, at approximately 4:35 p.m., a known adult male (victim 5) was at his home cleaning out his garage, located off Sioux Trail, in the City of Edina, County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota. Victim 5 parked his VW SUV on the street and left the keys inside. While in his garage, a silver Audi pulled up in front of victim 5’s home. A male exited the Audi, got into victim’s VW, and drove off. Victim 5 tracked his vehicle via an app on his phone to an address on SE 9th Ave in the City of Minneapolis. At approximately 6:20 p.m., victim 5’s vehicle was recovered at the Minneapolis address. It was determined that defendant’s phone was in the area at the time and location of the theft of victim 5’s vehicle. Defendant’s phone was also shown traveling from victim 5’s residence to Minneapolis, and ultimately to the location where victim 5’s vehicle was located.

August 6, 2023

On August 6, 2023, a known adult male (Victim 6) reported to the Edina police that his BMW sedan was stolen overnight out of his driveway off Gleason Road, in the City of Edina, County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota. Victim 6 reported that his kids probably left the keys in the vehicle. On August 9, 2023, victim 6’s vehicle was located at a residence located on Cheyenne Street, in the City of Milwaukee. It was determined that defendant’s phone was in the area of the theft at approximately 3 a.m. (consistent with the time Victim 6 said it could have been stolen). Officers were able to track defendant’s phone, which showed it traveling from the Twin Cities to Milwaukee on August 7, 2023, ultimately traveling to the area where victim 6’s vehicle was found. Officer’s executed a search warrant on defendant’s Facebook page, which revealed defendant sent a message “3809 W Cheyenne St” to another person. Additionally, police in Milwaukee executed a search warrant at 3809 W Cheyenne St. on June 13, 2023. Defendant was present at the home during the search warrant.

August 16, 2023

On August 16, 2023, at approximately 11:00 p.m., a known adult female, (Victim 7) was painting cabinets in her attached garage at her home on Oakland Road, in the City of Minnetonka, County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota, when she went inside to clean up. Victim 7 left her garage door open. Victim 7’s Mercedes sedan was in the garage with the keys inside. When Victim 7 came back out to the garage, the Mercedes was gone. Victim 7’s Mercedes is the same vehicle that defendant can be seen arriving in and fleeing in during the carjacking on Wingwood Court the next day. Additionally, it was determined that defendant’s phone was in the area at the time and place of the vehicle theft.

Victim 7’s Mercedes was recovered on August 30, 2023 at a hotel in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Officers arrested the driver of the Mercedes, Terrell David Turner, and impounded the vehicle. A search of defendant’s Facebook records revealed that on August 19, 2023, defendant sent a video of Victim 7’s Mercedes to a profile labeled “Terro Tragic.” Other messages from defendant to “Terro Tragic” appear to refer to other vehicles that had been stolen.

August 17, 2023

On August 18, 2023, a known adult female (Victim 8) observed that her purse was stolen out of her car that was parked in her attached garage, located off Woodale Ave, in the City of Edina, County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota. Victim 8 checked her security cameras and found that on August 17, 2023, at approximately 10 a.m., a grey Mercedes sedan pulled in front of her house. Two males exited the sedan and entered her garage. Victim 8 and her husband were inside their home at the time the two males entered the garage. The Mercedes sedan in which the suspects arrived appeared to be the same car stolen from Victim 7 above and the same vehicle that was used in the carjacking incident on Wingwood Court in Minnetonka approximately 50 minutes later. Additionally, one of the males that entered Victim 8’s garage was wearing the same distinctive sweatshirt that defendant was wearing during the Minnetonka carjacking. It was also determined that defendant’s phone was in the area at the time and location of the theft of Victim 8’s purse.

August 18, 2023

On the morning of August 18, 2023, a known adult female (Victim 9) observed that both of her vehicles had been stolen out of her garage overnight. Victim 9’s vehicles, a Lexus and a Mazda, were in her attached garage at her home on Pine Island Road, in the City of Minnetonka, County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota. Victim 9 believes that she left the keys in her vehicles and the garage door open. Both of Victim 9’s vehicles were tracked via GPS. The Lexus was ultimately recovered unoccupied on the 3400 block of Humbolt Ave in Minneapolis. Defendant is known to reside intermittently with his grandmother at 3200 Irving Ave, about 2 blocks away. It was also determined that defendant’s cell phone was in the area of the theft of Victim 9’s vehicles between approximately 4:15 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., on August 18, a time frame during which the vehicles could have been taken.

The Mazda was tracked to a Kwik Trip convenience store in Shakopee. Officers were unable to locate the Mazda at the Kwik Trip (the GPS on the Mazda only provides locations intermediately) but were able to recover surveillance video from the Kwik Trip. The surveillance video shows the Mazda at the store with a male known to law enforcement as Derek Sincere Holmes, a known associate of defendant. Defendant and Holmes communicate regularly over social media, and Holmes is charged as an accomplice with the carjacking incident from August 17 on Wingwood Court.

August 26, 2023

On August 26, 2023, at about 4:30 p.m., a known adult male (Victim 10) reported that his Audi sedan was just stolen out of his attached garage on Kelsey Terrace, in the City of Edina, County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota. Victim 10 was home at the time his vehicle was taken from his garage. A neighbor’s security camera captured a white Audi SUV pull in front of Victim 10’s home. Two males exit the white Audi and run into Victim 10’s garage and leave with his Audi. It was determined that defendant’s phone was in the area at the time and location of the theft of Victim 10’s car. The white Audi that was used to transport the suspects to Victim 10’s house is believed to be a vehicle that was stolen out of Plymouth, MN. The owner of the white Audi reported that when she went to bed on August 25, 2023, her white Audi was in her driveway with the keys inside. When she woke up on August 26, 2023, the vehicle was missing. It was determined that defendant’s phone was in the area of the Plymouth theft at approximately 2:30 a.m., a time when the vehicle could have been stolen. The white Audi is also connected to an incident from August 28, 2023 in Edina. On this date, surveillance video captures the white Audi pull in front of a home on 68th Street in Edina. Two males are seen exiting the Audi and walking up to a pickup truck parked in the driveway. The males attempt to enter the pickup but it is locked. The males then enter the attached garage, but eventually leave in the white Audi. Again, it was determined that defendant’s phone was in the area at the time and place of this incident.

August 30, 2023

On August 30, 2023, at about 7:20 a.m., a known adult male (Victim 11) backed his Ford Expedition out of his garage, located on Mirror Lakes Drive, in the City of Edina, County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota. Victim 11 parked his vehicle in the driveway and went for a short walk. As he was returning, he saw a male entering his vehicle. He also observed a white Audi that matched the description of the white Audi stolen out of Plymouth. Both vehicles sped off. Edina police were in the area and intercepted the vehicles, which fled at a high speed. Officers did not pursue for public safety reasons, but before the pursuit was terminated, officers were able to identify the white Audi as the same vehicle that was stolen out of Plymouth. Victim 11’s Ford Expedition was later recovered in Minneapolis.

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