Man charged with felony in theft of Mankato hockey team's equipment
DULUTH, Minn. — Authorities on Thursday charged the man accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of hockey equipment from a high school team during a tournament in northern Minnesota.
The 23-year-old suspect faces one felony count of aiding and abetting attempted theft, according to court documents.
The Mankato West Scarlets were gearing up for their last game in the Heritage Holiday Classic tournament in Duluth when they discovered their hockey sticks and extra equipment bag were missing Saturday morning.
A surveillance camera caught the suspect taking a large duffel bag from the team's bus just after 5 a.m. on Saturday, a criminal complaint said. The man was also allegedly seen on camera walking in the alley behind a nearby nonprofit with the bag.
Authorities recovered the bag and its contents, including multiple hockey sticks, from another man around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday. He told police he found the bag near a dumpster.
Around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, police were in contact with the suspect for another incident and noticed he was wearing the same sweatshirt and shoes as the man seen on surveillance footage.
In an interview with police, the suspect admitted to stealing the bag and hockey sticks. He said another man "asked me … if I could help him, so I helped him."
Police later recovered more hockey sticks and other equipment near where the bus was parked.
Without their sticks, the team had to forfeit their final game. But with practices and more games around the corner, the community stepped up to help. A GoFundMe was created and within just a couple days, it had raised nearly $6,000. Play It Again Sports in Mankato opened their doors for the team to purchase sticks at a discount.
Head coach Nate Olsen said most of the sticks were recovered in good condition.
Note: The video above originally aired Jan. 1, 2025.
