Ramsey County Jail Booking Photo
Published: October 22nd 2026.
SAINT PAUL - A 49-year-old man is facing two felony charges after allegedly breaking through a wall, damaging equipment and ransacking an office inside a downtown St. Paul building, resulting in more than $11,000 in estimated repairs.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Ramsey County District Court, Jeffrey Eugene Nelson is charged with third-degree burglary and first-degree criminal damage to property in connection with an October 18, 2026, incident at the Pioneer Endicott building in downtown St. Paul.
Police responded to the building after receiving a burglary report. Upon arrival, officers were escorted to a basement hallway, where they discovered extensive damage to a drywall partition. Debris and paperwork were scattered across the floor, and an office connected to the building's boiler room had reportedly been ransacked.
According to the complaint, Nelson was allegedly inside Gambit Brewing, located near the secured hallway entrance, around midnight. Investigators allege he entered the hallway without authorization and remained in the area for several hours before removing a pole attached to a wall and using it to break through into an office and boiler room.
Once inside, Nelson allegedly damaged boilers and water heaters, disturbed office materials and took a tool belonging to a building representative before leaving around 5:30 a.m.
A bartender told investigators that Nelson had been inside the establishment for several hours and was behaving erratically. The bartender reported that Nelson was only served water.
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage that reportedly captured the incident.
On October 20, an officer who had responded to the original burglary call spotted a man sitting on a rock in Mears Park and recognized him as the suspect depicted in the investigation. The man was identified as Nelson and taken into custody.
According to the complaint, Nelson made unsolicited statements during his arrest about a brick being wrong, which investigators believed could have been related to the incident.
A building representative later reported additional damage to the boilers and water heaters, along with several hundred dollars' worth of alcohol allegedly consumed from the bar. The representative provided investigators with a repair estimate exceeding $11,000.
Court records cited in the complaint also indicate that Nelson had an active warrant for failing to appear in court in a separate Ramsey County case involving allegations that he damaged several windows at Hmongtown Marketplace in July 2026.
Nelson faces two felony counts, each carrying a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both. Any sentence would depend on the outcome of the case and applicable sentencing laws.
The charges are allegations, and Nelson is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Source: Ramsey County Criminal Complaint