Suspect tried to carjack 3 people last week at Bloomington’s Mall of America and in Richfield – Law Officer

By Crime Watch MN

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – A south Minneapolis man with a violent history is facing several felony charges after attempting to carjack three separate people in a matter of minutes last week, two of them at Bloomington’s Mall of America and one of the incidents involving a parent and child in their vehicle.

Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges detailed the carjacking spree involving suspect Brandon Joseph Manypenny in a video briefing on Friday.

Charges indicate the incidents all took place in the early evening hours on Tuesday, Jan. 9.

The first incident describes that Manypenny, 29, entered the back seat of a vehicle at Mall of America that contained a man and his 11-year-old daughter as they were getting ready to leave the parking lot. The male victim later told police that Manypenny produced what appeared to be a handgun and ordered the male victim to drive. The man and his daughter were able to exit the vehicle with the keys. Manypenny also exited the vehicle and attempted to get into the driver’s seat, but the male victim was able to kick the door shut, and Manypenny ran away.

Chief Hodges described that while police were responding to that carjacking, they were alerted to another carjacking that occurred in the same area.

In the second incident, a man was sitting in his vehicle in the Mall of America parking lot preparing to leave when Manypenny entered the back seat and again ordered the victim to drive. That victim was able to exit the vehicle and back away, at which point Manypenny got into the driver’s seat and fled in the vehicle.

Charges in a separate case state that Manypenny arrived at a gas station on 12th Avenue South in Richfield about 7:30 p.m. where the third victim was pumping gas into his vehicle. Manypenny shoved the victim out of the way and attempted to enter the rear car door, but the victim was able to close the rear door. Manypenny then took the filling nozzle out of the gas tank and began spraying the victim’s vehicle with gas. Manypenny then proceeded to the driver’s door, entered the driver’s seat and tried to start the vehicle, but the victim had already removed the keys. An off-duty Hennepin County sheriff’s deputy happened to be on the scene and was able to forcibly remove Manypenny from the victim’s vehicle and hold him until Richfield police arrived.

A small knife with what appeared to be blood on it was found on Manypenny during a search after arrest. Richfield police then learned of the two incidents at Mall of America and confirmed that the vehicle Manypenny had arrived in was the vehicle taken in the second incident at MOA.

Manypenny is charged in the Bloomington incidents with one count of attempted second-degree aggravated robbery and one count of theft. In the Richfield incident, Manypenny is charged with simple robbery. All charges are felonies.

Manypenny made an initial court appearance in both cases on Friday and remains in custody on $100,000 bail in each case. He’s scheduled for another hearing in both cases on Tuesday.

Chief Hodges indicated that Manypenny has a lengthy criminal history, and a check of state court records confirms a history of convictions on violent crimes.

Manypenny was convicted in 2017 on a count of first-degree assault involving great bodily harm in a case where charges of attempted murder and felon in possession of a firearm were dismissed in a plea deal. Charges in the case say Manypenny and two others argued with another male in south Minneapolis over a drug dispute, and Manypenny shot the victim at close range multiple times. Manypenny and the others left the shooting victim lying in the street and fled from the area in a vehicle. Manypenny was sentenced to 72 months in prison in the case, of which he was only required to serve two-thirds, or 48 months.

Manypenny was also allowed to serve a 39-month prison sentence on a conviction for first-degree aggravated robbery in a separate case concurrently with the assault conviction. Manypenny also has two convictions involving domestic assault, aid/abet simple robbery, fifth-degree assault, fleeing police, underage drinking and driving, and trespassing.

Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.

This article originally appeared at Alpha News and was reprinted with permission.