Burnsville Man Charged with Stealing Clothes, Leaving Used Boxers Behind

A Burnsville man was arrested this week and charged with theft after authorities say he stole more than $700 worth of clothing from a Burnsville store and left his old boxer shorts behind in a dressing room.

Justin Randall Decker, 31, is charged with felony theft, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, Burnsville police were called to the store Tuesday on a theft report.

The store’s loss prevention officers told police that a bald white male wearing a plaid shirt and jeans had run out of the store in the direction of a furniture store and a pharmacy. When officers searched, they were told that there was a man hiding behind some boxes at an electrical substation near the store.

When police approached the substation, they spotted Decker and a pile of clothing. Decker grabbed the clothes and ran for about 30 feet before stopping and waiting for police.

Loss prevention personnel told police that they saw Decker going into a changing room with a number of clothing items, then leaving the store with nothing in his hands. An employee checked Decker’s stall and found tags, hangers and a used pair of boxer shorts, but no merchandise.

Decker passed three registers without paying, the complaint says. When a loss prevention officer identified himself, Decker fled the store, according to the complaint.

Decker matched the suspect in surveillance video, and the loss prevention officer identified him as the man who had left without paying for the merchandise, which totaled $738.

Decker’s criminal history includes a conviction for theft in May.

Decker is free on bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled for Sept. 19 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.