Former Minn. Police Officer Charged in Rash of Thefts

Authorities believe Paul James Kezar was a busy man after he was hired by the Thief River Falls, Minn., Police Department in January.

The department was investigating a series of thefts at homes, hardware stores and farm-machine lots throughout the summer and into the fall.

Some massive machines vanished: a commercial lawn mower valued at $9,600; an International Harvester tractor, complete with front loader; trailers; all-terrain vehicles; a $16,000 boat.

Many of the items -- worth a total of $50,845 -- were found Wednesday on Kezar's property, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday in Marshall County District Court. Many of the items came from individuals, rather than businesses -- including a couple of snowmobiles and even a homemade trailer.

Authorities started getting suspicious after two area residents told investigators they had bought or picked up some large-ticket items from Kezar in late September and early October. One -- a commercial lawn mower valued at $9,600 -- matched the description of an item stolen from Hardware Hank, a business three miles north of Thief River Falls.

Another mower, stolen from Evergreen Implement, about 10 miles south of town, was valued at $7,000. Kezar sold the mower for a cool $2,000 to another Thief River Falls resident, according to a second criminal complaint filed Thursday in Pennington County.

In all, Kezar, 37, was charged Thursday with four counts of receiving stolen property. He was being held in the Marshall County Jail that evening with bail set at $100,000. He also was placed on paid administrative leave pending the investigation and court proceedings.

Because Kezar was employed for less than a year at the department, he was still on probationary status.

Two phone numbers listed for Kezar's Thief River Falls address had been disconnected when called Thursday.

According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Kezar was a St. Croix County, Wis., sheriff's deputy from 2001 to 2002 and a Stillwater police officer from 2002 to 2005.

Thief River Falls Police Chief Kim Murphy said he could not comment on the case. But he said the investigation has devastated morale not only in his 16-officer department, but in every law enforcement agency in the area.

"They feel extremely betrayed. They believe it hurt the image and tarnished the image of all law enforcement in the area. ... Because we're so rural, everybody knows everybody."

Some of his officers, when they heard of the case, "actually became physically ill. That's the impact it's had. Some are absolutely numb," Murphy said.

The investigation was conducted by the BCA with help from the Thief River Falls Police Department and the Pennington County Sheriff's Department.

Tad Vezner can be reached at 651-228-5461.