ROCHESTER, Minn. – A Rochester gent intended only to pop into Shar’s Country Palace & Bar for a beer. It was a cold evening. He left his car running so it would be warm and cozy when he came back. It would be just a few minutes, he thought. No big deal. That was 6 o’clock. Three and a half hours later he left the bar for the parking lot. The car was gone. Anybody seen a silver 2001 Lexus? Even worse: The car wasn’t his. The guy, a mechanic, had been working on the car for a customer.
Shar’s place. A convivial crowd at a fairly remote rural address: 3925 Marion Road Southeast.