Hunter
04/28/23
Two Minnesota men who have reportedly been committing business burglaries across the Midwest have been taken into custody for two area incidents.
According to arrest reports, 32-year-old Najee Abdullah and 43-year-old Richard Holston committed two burglaries on April 4th. The first was at the Acapulco Bakery on Keokuk Street in Iowa City. At approximately 4:15 am, the two were reportedly seen on surveillance video smashing the front door with burglar’s tools and ransacking the business. Damage to the door was estimated at $3000.
A half-hour later, Abdullah and Holston reportedly broke into El Azul on Community Drive in North Liberty, stealing a safe containing $1000.
The officer working the two cases discovered that the two were involved in burglaries of Mexican businesses in Waterloo and Ankeny in the days preceding and following the April 4th burglaries. On April 2nd, Eagle Grove Iowa deputies searched their vehicle after a traffic stop and allegedly found the burglar tools that were used in the local incidents. The pair were also seen on body-cam footage wearing the same clothes that surveillance video captured in the North Liberty and Iowa City burglaries.
Law enforcement officials believe Abdullah and Holston are involved in over 30 burglaries across the Midwest.
Arrest warrants for the Johnson County incidents were issued on April 19th, and the pair were taken to the Johnson County Jail Thursday afternoon. They each face two counts each of 3rd degree Burglary, 2nd degree Criminal Mischief, and Possession of Burglar’s Tools. If convicted on the two local incidents alone, Abdullah and Holston could each be sentenced to up to 24 years in prison.