{"id":72270,"date":"2026-11-08T11:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-08T17:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=72270"},"modified":"2026-11-07T08:16:46","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T14:16:46","slug":"bemidji-man-found-under-truck-faces-felony-charge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/bemidji-man-found-under-truck-faces-felony-charge\/","title":{"rendered":"Bemidji Man Found Under Truck Faces Felony Charge"},"content":{"rendered":"

BEMIDJI, Minn.<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2013 A Bemidji man faces a felony charge after police allegedly discovered him hiding beneath a truck at a local automotive business.<\/p>\n

Dayton Robert Nelson, 25, of Bemidji<\/strong>, is charged with possession of burglary or theft tools following a September 8, 2026, investigation.<\/p>\n

According to a criminal complaint filed in Beltrami County District Court, officers recovered screwdrivers and a flashlight during his arrest.<\/p>\n

Police Respond to Early-Morning Vehicle Tampering Report<\/h2>\n

At approximately 5:17 a.m., Bemidji police and a Beltrami County deputy responded to a vehicle tampering report at Dick’s Northside.<\/p>\n

Officers began searching the business’s vehicle lot for suspicious activity.<\/p>\n

One officer searched inside the lot using a floodlight while another checked the property’s perimeter.<\/p>\n

According to court documents, the deputy noticed movement beneath a vehicle near the western fence line.<\/p>\n

Suspect Discovered Hiding Under Truck<\/h2>\n

The officers approached the area where the movement had been spotted.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, a man wearing a tan shirt and black hat was found underneath a truck.<\/p>\n

The deputy ordered the man to stand up.<\/p>\n

Officers identified him as Nelson and placed him under arrest.<\/p>\n

During a search following the arrest, police reportedly recovered a flashlight and screwdrivers from Nelson.<\/p>\n

Investigators included those items as evidence supporting the alleged possession of burglary or theft tools.<\/p>\n

Security Video Allegedly Shows Camera Tampering<\/h2>\n

The owner of Dick’s Northside provided surveillance footage to investigators.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, the footage showed Nelson moving through the lot and ducking behind parked vehicles.<\/p>\n

He was reportedly wearing a hat and mask.<\/p>\n

Investigators allege Nelson noticed a security camera and turned his hat around to conceal his face.<\/p>\n

He then allegedly approached the camera and pushed it upward, obstructing its view.<\/p>\n

Additional footage reportedly showed Nelson holding what appeared to be a flashlight.<\/p>\n

The complaint does not establish that any vehicles were stolen or that property was damaged during the incident.<\/p>\n

\"Dayton<\/a>
Dayton Robert Nelson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Previous Criminal Convictions Cited<\/h2>\n

Investigators also reviewed Nelson’s criminal history.<\/p>\n

The complaint lists previous convictions involving theft, vehicle tampering, receiving stolen property, and fleeing on foot.<\/p>\n

Those previous convictions are separate from the current felony allegation.<\/p>\n

Nelson was transported to the Beltrami County Jail following his arrest.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, he was subsequently released.<\/p>\n

Felony Possession of Burglary Tools Charge Filed<\/h2>\n

Prosecutors charged Nelson under Minnesota Statute 609.59<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The law prohibits possessing tools or devices with the intent to use them to commit burglary or theft.<\/p>\n

The charge carries a maximum possible sentence of three years in prison, a $5,000 fine, or both<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors must establish the required criminal intent. Possessing ordinary tools alone does not necessarily constitute this offense.<\/p>\n

The supplied complaint lists one felony charge and does not include separate theft or burglary charges.<\/p>\n

Beltrami County Court Case<\/h2>\n

The case is filed in Minnesota’s Ninth Judicial District under court file number 04-CR-26-2444<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The criminal complaint lists a summons for Nelson.<\/p>\n

The allegation has not been proven in court. Nelson is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.<\/p>\n

Additional case information can be searched through Minnesota Court Records Online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I’m Adrian Cole reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Bemidji man faces a felony after police found him hiding beneath a truck at Dick’s Northside. Security video allegedly shows him tampering with a camera.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72271,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"","timeOption":"","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":""},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[1212,1224,1197,31481,1051],"trf_mt_town":[29430],"trf_mt_county":[29512],"trf_mt_topic":[29493],"trf_mt_series":[],"class_list":["post-72270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-beltrami-county","tag-bemidji","tag-criminal-charges","tag-dayton-robert-nelson","tag-theft"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72270"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72272,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72270\/revisions\/72272"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72270"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_town","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_town?post=72270"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_county","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_county?post=72270"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_topic?post=72270"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_series?post=72270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}