Shakopee, Minneapolis Men Charged with Short-Lived Car Theft

A Shakopee man and a Minneapolis man have been charged with stealing a car in Minneapolis, then crashing it into another car minutes later.

Abdirahman Elyas Abdullahi, 23, of Shakopee and Sulaiman Sharif Maye, 22, of Minneapolis are charged with theft of a motor vehicle, a felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Minneapolis police were alerted just after 11 p.m. Dec. 12 that two Somali men had stolen a car from a parking lot behind a store in the 200 block of West Lake Street, according to the criminal complaint, signed by Minneapolis Police Sgt. Michael Grahn.

About three minutes later, police found the stolen car, which had crashed into another vehicle at the intersection of 28th Street West and Pillsbury Avenue. Witnesses told police that two men had walked away from the crash.

Officers caught the two nearby. Abdullahi had fresh injuries on his forehead, and police found the men’s baseball hats and a cell phone belonging to Maye inside the stolen car, according to the complaint.

The victim identified the men as the ones responsible for stealing his car. Surveillance video at the store showed both men inside the business before the theft, wearing the baseball hats that were found in the car, the complaint says.

The video shows Maye and Abdullahi getting into the car, with Maye driving and Abdullahi in the front passenger seat.

Abdullahi, who is also being held on two outstanding warrants, remains in the Hennepin County Jail on a $5,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled Dec. 26 in Hennepin County District Court. Maye has been released from custody and has an omnibus hearing scheduled Dec. 31.