Antwan Darcell Thomas, 45, of Owatonna was charged with felony second-degree burglary, felony receiving stolen property and misdemeanor tamper with motor vehicle/enter without owner permission on Tuesday in Mower County District Court.

According to the court complaint, police responded to a burglary call at 2:40 p.m. on Sunday at an apartment in the 1800 block of Oakland Avenue East. Police arrived and located Thomas outside the residence.

Officers spoke to the residents, who indicated Thomas, whom they did not know, had stolen meat out of their freezer while they were at church. One resident said the freezer door was open when they got home and that Thomas knocked on the door asking to see “Brandon.” She allowed Thomas in because she had a relative named Brandon and gave Thomas a glass of water when he asked for it. She said Thomas then started strangling their dog and placed her cell phone in his pocket. When she confronted him about it, Thomas denied taking the phone before giving it back to her.

Other residents showed up and told Thomas to leave. Thomas then walked outside and was observed putting bags of items in a vehicle that that did not belong to him. The owner of the vehicle gave police permission to search the trunk, where they found items that did not belong to her, including frozen meat, frozen biscuits and children’s toys. The vehicle’s owner said she did not know Thomas and did not give him permission to enter the vehicle.

Police searched the rest of the vehicle and found property belonging to another woman who knew Thomas, but did not give him permission to be in her residence. She reported that six vials of methadone had been taken, along with movies, a computer, a movie player and pieces of mail.

Police located a window with a recently damaged lock at the woman’s residence.

A deputy interviewed Thomas, who said he was there looking for “Brandon,” but “Brandon” must have moved. He said he went to the door and was allowed in and a woman gave him a glass of water. He also said he had taken a cab to Austin to see “Brandon” and did not know the people in the residence. He was not able to explain how he obtained the items from the residences or why he was placing them in a vehicle that did not belong to him.

A review of Thomas’ criminal history shows prior convictions for theft, felon in possession of a pistol, possessing/owning short-barreled machine gun and first-degree assault. He is currently awaiting disposition on charges of disorderly conduct and threats of violence in Goodhue County.

Thomas will appear in court again on May 6.