WINONA Minn. – A man returned home from an extended trip and found his house ransacked and an intruder inside. Police arrested Shawn Albert Hawley, 45. To police, Hawley said he had permission to be in the house. No way, said the owner. This drama began unfolding at the house, in 350 block of Oak Street just off Kraemer Drive, about 12:30 p.m. The owner acknowledged that his path and Hawley’s had crossed weeks earlier at the Winona jail. Now Hawley is back in jail, this time charged tentatively with burglary. Police said that entry had been gained by breaking a side window. In Hawley’s pockets, police said, were $14 cash and items from the bedroom of the owner’s son. Damage appeared serious. The owner estimated $20,000. The owner said he would assess whether anything was missing.
Unexplained detail
> A neighbor told police that a U-Haul trailer had been backed into the driveway a week earlier and loaded with items from the house.
> Inexplicably the lock on the back door of the house had been changed, the owner said. By whom? Why?
> The owner’s sister had been keeping an eye the place since August 8 but not noted anything amiss.
> Hawley told police he was from Winona but living in a camper.
> Apparently Hawley had domiciled himself in the house at least a week. How? Why?
Hawley. Mysterious occupancy leads to burglary arrest.