WILLMAR — A St. Cloud man was sentenced Thursday to five years of supervised probation for his role in a 2018 burglary that saw nearly $40,000 in items stolen from a Green Lake Township home.
Craig Dennis Rapp, 38, was also ordered to serve 90 days in jail, which may be deferred if he is compliant with conditions of his sentence, including making regular payments toward nearly $43,000 in restitution. Fees and fines total $335.
District Judge Jennifer Fischer also granted a stay of imposition, under which the conviction will be reduced to a misdemeanor if Rapp successfully completes probation. Among the probation conditions are writing an apology letter, doing cognitive skills training and paying restitution.
Rapp pleaded guilty in August in Kandiyohi County District Court to a felony theft charge as part of a plea agreement that dismissed two other felony burglary charges and a felony damage to property charge.
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His co-defendant, Coda Lee Johnson, 30, of Sartell , was sentenced in July to 41 months in prison , with credit given for 561 days already served, for his role in the incident. Johnson also was ordered to pay the nearly $43,000 in restitution.
According to court records, surveillance video at the home of the alleged burglary and their alleged recorded jail conversations helped lead to the charges. A third man seen in the video is not identified in court records.
A homeowner reported that he had returned after a week away to find numerous items missing from his home.
The homeowner reported that seven compound bows, a bear skin rug and a handgun, plus other items, were stolen. The owner reported the crossbows had a value of more than $21,000, according to the criminal complaint, and the rug was valued at nearly $2,700.
In total, the value of items stolen was more than $38,000, and damage to the home and its surveillance cameras was nearly $4,000.
Surveillance video showed two men enter the front door the afternoon of Sept. 21 and showed three men entering the home twice that night. They left carrying items, and one of them carried a crowbar during one visit.
The three men were still in the house when the owner returned. They left through a back door, dropping things inside and outside the residence.
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During the investigation, the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office learned that Johnson and Rapp may have been involved in the robbery, according to court records.
When Johnson was in the Stearns County Jail in December, he was recorded in a phone call offering to sell a person a bow for $1,000 and indicated it was worth $2,500.
In recordings of jail visits and phone calls, authorities heard the two discuss how to dispose of items taken in burglaries, according to court records. Acquaintances of the two men identified them from photos and the surveillance videos.
