A St. Paul Park, Minn. man has been charged in a string of vehicle thefts that occurred across rural Pierce County in 2021.

Trenton Earl Gronau posted a $30,000 signature bond Dec. 21 in Pierce County Circuit Court on take/drive vehicle without consent – abandon vehicle, two felony receiving stolen property (>$10,000) and two felony take and drive vehicle without consent charges, all with the repeater and “as party to a crime” modifiers. If convicted, Gronau faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and/or fines up to $25,000.

According to the complaint:

On Aug. 21, 2021, Pierce County deputies were dispatched to a 490^th Street address in the town of Ellsworth for a vehicle theft. Sometime during the night, someone had stolen a black 2014 Dodge pickup from in front of the complainant’s garage. A string of vehicle thefts had been occurring in the area.

At the same time, deputies found a black Ford Focus on the road near the 490^th Street address that they believed was also stolen and abandoned by the thief. The owner lived at a County Road D address in the town of Hartland. When they reached the Ford’s owner, he told police the vehicle had bad brakes, which is probably why the thief abandoned it in favor of taking the Dodge Ram.

The vehicle owner had left his wallet in the Dodge Ram. Over the course of the next few days, the suspect used his credit cards to make various purchases in the Cities, including at Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Autozone and Marilynn Tobacco. Police were able to obtain video of the suspect, who was identified as Gronau.

The Ford Focus’ owner also told police that someone had stolen a gray Buick Lacrosse from his property at 9 p.m. July 31, 2021. After interviewing him, police located garbage that had been dumped at US Highway 10 and 530^th Street in the town of Ellsworth, likely from the suspect. They were able to collect a cigarette butt and Red Bull can to be tested for DNA, which later proved to belong to Gronau. Gronau’s DNA was also found on a face mask left at the scene of a stolen Corvette and on the steering wheel, shifter and inside door handle of the Dodge Ram.

Other thefts in the area included a Corvette and tools, Polaris 570 UTV, Nissan Cube, 2013 Polaris 500 UTV, 1997 Wells Cargo trailer and in St. Croix County, a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado.

Throughout the course of their investigation, officers obtained cell phone records showing texts and messages between Gronau and various people involved in the theft ring, speaking about the stolen items, how to make them legal and selling them. They also learned many of the vehicles were being stored at W3856 Highway 10. One of the messages even talked about the Ford’s faulty brakes.

Gronau was convicted of felony burglary first degree – dwelling in Faribault County (Minn.) on Aug. 14, 2017, according to court records.

Gronau is scheduled to appear at 11:15 a.m. Feb. 7 in Pierce County Circuit Court for a preliminary hearing.