Woodbury man robs from food truck

Staff Report
Posted 10/6/23

Frank Gums Jr., 18, Woodbury, was charged on Sept. 25 with felony theft over $5,000. On Sept. 13, officers responded to a report of theft from a food truck that was parked in South Saint Paul. …

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Woodbury man robs from food truck

Posted

Frank Gums Jr., 18, Woodbury, was charged on Sept. 25 with felony theft over $5,000. On Sept. 13, officers responded to a report of theft from a food truck that was parked in South Saint Paul. Officers arrived and spoke with the owner of the food truck, who was working in the truck at the time of the theft. The victim said a male opened the driver’s door of the food truck and grabbed her black backpack before entering a red SUV and fleeing. The backpack contained the past month’s proceeds from the business amounting to $20,000-$30,000 in cash, jewelry, two electronic devices, and checkbooks belonging to the victim and the business.

Surveillance footage showed the license plate of the vehicle used by the suspect during the theft. The male, later identified as Gums, drove the vehicle while a female waited in the passenger seat.

Information was also received that in late August, a man named “Frank Johnson” had stolen a vehicle from a female, now identified as “witness.” The vehicle stolen was the vehicle used by the suspects during the food truck theft. The witness would frequently contact “Frank” about getting her vehicle back. On Sept. 15, the witness was on a FaceTime call with “Frank” when he showed her two green bank bags containing a large amount of cash and checks belonging to the food truck. “Frank” told the witness that he bought an egg roll, watched the truck for two hours, and then robbed the food truck.

A KOPS alert was issued for the vehicle used by Gums, and the vehicle was located at a motel in Bloomington on Sept. 20. It was confirmed that a room was rented by Frank Gums and another person, later identified as the female passenger. A search warrant was obtained for the room, but it was found empty. Officers learned that the female passenger had been arrested by Saint Paul Police on Sept. 17, when she was with Frank Gums Jr. Photographs and surveillance footage of the female passenger at this time displayed Gums and the red SUV belonging to the witness and used during the food truck theft during this arrest.

Based on the phone number provided by the witness for “Frank,” a detective obtained a search warrant for location information for the phone. On Sept. 22, officers tracked the phone to a motel in Saint Paul. It was confirmed that the female passenger had rented a room at the motel. Officers observed Gums arrive at the motel and go into the female passenger’s room. A search warrant was obtained, and officers entered the room, locating Gums. The female passenger was also present in the room. She tried to escape by climbing out the window but was apprehended outside of the motel.

The female passenger told a detective that she and Gums bought food from the truck and went back to the car. She stated she didn’t know where the money from the stolen bag went and said she had told Gums not to do it.

Gums was advised of his constitutional rights and provided a statement to police denying stealing from the food truck. He did admit to using the witness’s vehicle when arrested but that he had borrowed it from her the day before his arrest. Gums continued to deny involvement in the theft even after police confronted him with the surveillance video.

Gums is currently booked in the Dakota County Jail.