HUDSON, Wis. - The heavy rain last week appears to have spoiled the plans of a Minneapolis man and landed him in jail.
Jason Allen Dupre, 39, has been held in St. Croix County Jail since last Thursday following his arrest on charges of felony burglary and damage to property. He is accused of stealing scrap metal off the scoreboard at the St. Croix Meadows Dog Track.
According to Hudson Police Det. Sgt. Eric Atkinson, sometime in the early hours of the morning of Sept. 23, Dupre drove onto the rear of the property unnoticed by security on duty and stripped metal conduit, copper tubing and aluminum from the scoreboard. But when he attempted to drive off, his pickup truck became deeply mired in the mud. He was spotted by a security guard as he walked past a building at the south end of the property.
The guard stopped Dupre and asked what he was doing. He told the guard that his truck was stuck and he was going to get help. The guard called police who arrested Dupre on the scene. He did not attempt to leave. According to the security supervisor at the track, some friends of Dupre showed up around the same time and told police he had called them to help him get his vehicle out of a ditch. They did not know anything about the alleged theft.
Dupre's vehicle with the scrap metal inside was impounded by police.
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Atkinson said that a preliminary hearing into the charges was scheduled for this week. He said that Dupre does have a criminal history.
The dog track closed in August 2001 but the facility has security guards on duty 24 hours a day. The track which encompasses 126 acres is located off Carmichael Road and County F.
