Man Caught Burglarizing Ridgewood Church in Minnetonka

A man from Gray Eagle was allegedly caught burglarizing Ridgewood Church in Minnetonka.

Ralph Bruggenthies, 51, has been charged with two felonies: burglary in the second degree and theft over $1,000.

At about 5:30 p.m. on April 29, a man arrived at the church, where it was closed and locked. He told police he saw Bruggenthies in the parking lot, shirtless, disheveled and disoriented. The man noticed Bruggenthies was going through a tool box near a trailer stored in the lot. 

The man reported to police that he entered the church and found Bruggenthies in the church office holding money, a set of keys, a tape recorder and a wrist watch. The man told police that Bruggenthies didn't have permission to be in the office.

Police found church property piled near the trailer in the parking lot and discovered that an exterior window in the church offices had been pried open.