MN- St. Paul / Halloween candy snatchings reported

11-5-2008 Minnesota:

Three people — a mentally disabled teen and two boys — were robbed of their Halloween candy in separate incidents in St. Paul on Friday night, police said Monday.

No one was injured, police said.

An 18-year-old man — whose mother described him as having a mental disability, which was also apparent to officers — was robbed in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood about 10:15 p.m. Friday. The St. Paul resident was walking back from a store when three males — their faces covered with bandanas — approached him from behind at Duluth Street and Jessamine Avenue, said Sgt. Pete Crum, a police spokesman.

The teens pointed a gun at the man and took his money, electronics and candy he had been given while trick-or-treating in the neighborhood, Crum said.

Three 15-year-old boys, all St. Paul residents, were arrested nearby. Officers discovered the gun was a BB gun.

On Monday, the Ramsey County attorney's office charged the teens, including one who turned 16 on Saturday, with aggravated robbery. Two pleaded guilty Monday in juvenile court.

A public defender wasn't available to represent the third teen, and he pleaded not guilty, according to the county attorney's office.

The other robbery occurred in the West Seventh Street area. Two boys, ages 11 and 13, reported to police at 8:15 p.m. that five juveniles had earlier stolen one boy's bag of Halloween candy and tried to take the other's bag in the 700 block of Randolph Avenue, Crum said.

No arrests were made in that case. ..News Source.. by Mara H. Gottfried