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/ CBS Minnesota
VADNAIS HEIGHTS, Minn. — A business in Vadnais Heights is giving shoppers a chance to land a deal after chaos on Christmas morning.
Surveillance video from Tousley Motorsports shows a man riding a stolen ATV through the store, running over other vehicles and sending merchandise flying.
Police arrested Austin Erickson shortly after. They say he was on drugs at the time.
Now, about $500,000 in damage later, Tousley is having a "scratch and dent" sale Saturday.
The sale includes damaged bikes, four-wheelers and snowmobiles — with some discounted for thousands of dollars.
"We're gonna serve some hot dogs and chips and stuff and sort of have fun with the whole fiasco," said John Osowski, a salesman at Tousley.
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Erickson was granted a $500 cash bond in the case, despite also having charges pending for assault, violent threats and stealing a car.
Tousley's president called it "a joke" and told WCCO, "Had he been properly prosecuted for his past crimes, he wouldn't have been able to commit the multiple felonies on Christmas."
"It's not like you're looking for retribution or a get-even kind of situation, but you want people to be held accountable," Osowski said. "It can be disappointing."
Osowski says the scratch-and-dent sale isn't the only silver lining to the incident.
"It's amazing when the community kind of rallies around and says, 'Hey, can we help out?'" he said. "So it's kind of a feel-good moment if that makes sense."
There are about 30 items for sale this weekend.
Erickson's scheduled in court for all his cases next week.
David joined the WCCO team in April 2020, previously working at CBS 58 in Milwaukee. Prior to that, he worked in Las Vegas. While there, David covered several stories in the national spotlight, including the October 1 mass shooting and political visits from President Barack Obama and candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
First published on February 14, 2024 / 10:21 PM CST
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