Burglary suspects nabbed in Washburn County

Area law enforcement agencies teamed up to arrest two burglary suspects in Washburn County last week.

“As has happened on many prior occasions, these operations conducted by the Sheriff’s Office were successful due to the fact that citizens became involved in reporting their observations and being involved in the happenings of their community,” said Washburn County Sheriff Terry Dryden in a statement released Friday. “Excellent working relationships between the Washburn County Sheriff’s Office and outside law enforcement agencies has fostered an environment where multi-jurisdictional operations have led to successful results as seen in this case.”

On Tuesday, Washburn County Sheriff’s deputies and investigators responded to a residence in the Town of Casey where a burglary had been reported. During the commission of this burglary, the suspects had stolen a golf cart after forcibly breaking into a garage. In the course of the burglary investigation, a Jeep with Minnesota license plates was located, submerged in a marshy area nearby the burglary scene. Due to evidence located during the investigation of the burglary, investigators believed the suspects to be a male and female along with a dog.

On Wednesday at approximately 1:30 p.m., Washburn County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a burglary in progress call on Leisure Lake Road in the Town of Casey. A citizen called the Sheriff’s Office and reported that they observed a male and a female trying to steal an ATV out of his neighbor’s garage. The complainant indicated that the suspects fled the area into the woods on the east side of Island Lake. An extensive search was conducted by sheriff’s deputies, Washburn County K-9 Unit, Wisconsin State Patrol and Air Assets from the Wisconsin DNR. During the search, sheriff’s deputies arrested Kaylee Michelle Miller, 18, from Inver Grove Heights, Minn. She was booked into the Washburn County Jail on charges of burglary.

The male suspect was identified as Joseph Francis Lukas, 22, of St. Paul, Minn. Further information revealed he was currently wanted by Minnesota Department of Corrections regarding a conviction for terroristic threats and reckless disregard for safety. Sheriff’s Deputies continued patrolling the area throughout the night in an attempt to locate Lukas.

Thursday at approximately 8:49 a.m., a Washburn County Sheriff’s investigator initiated a foot pursuit into a wooded area located near Perch Lake Road in the Town of Bashaw in an attempt to apprehend the burglary suspect. Operations were conducted in order to apprehend the burglary suspect by personnel from the following agencies: Washburn County Sheriff’s Deputies, Washburn County K-9, Barron County K-9, Polk County K-9, Shell Lake Police Department, Wisconsin State Patrol, Burnett County Sheriff’s Office, National Park Service, Washburn County Special Response Team, Wisconsin DNR Forestry, and Air Assets from the Wisconsin DNR. These operations resulted in the successful apprehension of Lukas. He was booked into the Washburn County Jail on multiple counts of burglary along with knowingly fleeing law enforcement

“Once again, I would like to thank the citizens for being involved and the personnel who participated in the operations that led to these arrests,” Dryden said in the release.

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