DAKOTA, Minn. — A man who lives just off U.S. Highway 14-61 came home from work and, surprise, found a man inside wearing one of his shirts and making himself right at home. Although the guy was amiable enough, albeit it strangely, the homeowner told him to take off the shirt and leave, then called the sheriff. Deputies arrested Harrison Bradley Margolis, age 39. of Decorah, Iowa. He was hitchhiking toward Dakota. Margolis was booked. at the county jail in Winona,20 miles away, for burglary of a dwelling. Margolis may have been experiencing a mental health issue, deputies said. For the homeowner it had been a long day. He had left his place on Fern Glen Road for work about 4 a.m. Driving up home in the evening, he told deputies, things didn’t look right: The basement light was on, his mail was missing, a trash bin wasn’t where it should have been. Inside he found Margolis, whom he didn’t know from adam. The homeowner told him to take the shirt, which he did. Told to leave, the man cried and apologized and then left. The homeowner told deputies the house had been locked. Apparently, he said, Margolis crawled in through a doggy door and spent all day in the house. All these details are the criminal complaint, including that Margolis had helped himself to two chicken patties, pulled clothes from a washer-dryer and put them on; burned some papers; cleaned up poop from the homeowner’s dog; and rearranged furniture. There were things too, according to the criminal complaint, that Margolis had brought with him: a baby doll, a Christmas ornament, a plastic figurine, and a plush reindeer antler.
Margolis. Charged with squatting for the day and making himself at home – not his but somebody else’s. Episode ends with an apology, tears and arrest.
Lovely neighborhood. Overlookig Mississippi just north of Dakota. Nice place to hang your hat.