UPDATED: Minnetonka Police Chase, Arrest Convertible-Driving Burglar

The Hennepin County Attorney has charged a 50-year-old man with two felony counts after Minnetonka Police caught the man allegedly fleeing from a botched burglary job at a Minnetonka home earlier this week.

According to court documents, early Monday afternoon, a woman was alone in her home, located in the 17900 block of Old Excelsior Boulevard in Minnetonka, when she heard her doorbell ring twice. She reportedly looked out the window but did not recognize the man standing there. The woman told investigators that the man then opened the storm door, pounded twice on the front door and even tried the front door knob—jiggling it.

She said she watched as the man, later identified as William Waymon George, then allegedly proceeded to walk around her home, trying different points of entry, eventually kicking in the door that leads to the attached garage. After getting into the garage, the man reportedly took three steps into the home before he saw the woman and fled the scene.

That woman called 911 and Minnetonka Police responded immediately.  They noticed damage to the garage doorframe. 

The woman was able to provide a very detailed description of the man who broke into her house—including what he was wearing. A Hennepin County K-9 team was called into to look for the fleeing intruder. Using the description taken from the victim, police soon spotted a man fitting the description in Minnetonka —driving a convertible.

Police attempted to stop the man by turning on the lights of their squad car—but it's alleged that the man did not stop. Instead Minnetonka Police said he made what appeared to be a vulgar gesture and continued driving. After a mile in pursuit, the man pulled over in the 5800 block of County Road 101, just south of Clear Springs Elementary School.  In his car, Minnetonka Police found burglary tools like screwdrivers and sharpened punches.

The man was positively identified as the would-be burglar by the Minnetonka woman and subsequently taken into custody and charged with felony first-degree burglary and felony feeling a peace officer. If convicted, these charges could mean a total of 23 years in prison.

The man has served prison time in the past.  He’s been convicted on three prior burglary charges. He’s currently in jail in Hennepin County. According to court documents, the man lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

For more from this week's detailed Minnetonka Police crime blotter, including a story on how cops cracked a Corvette caper and caught the clumsy crooks, click here.