Minnesota Community Rallies After Popular Business Is Vandalized

Minnesota is full of great people and great communities. However, life gets busy and it can be easy to take our friends and neighbors for granted.

Sometimes it takes adversity within a community to bring everyone together with the single goal of helping those impacted overcome whatever challenges they are facing.

That is what is happening now in Cloquet after a business owner was targeted for what appears to be a random act of vandalism. Now, an arrest has been made, and residents of Cloquet and beyond are doing their best to help the business move forward.

A Cloquet Business Is Vandalized

On Sunday, October 13, a witness reportedly called the Cloquet Police Department to report that an individual was breaking windows with a bat at Burger's Shoes,  located at 1609 Carlton Avenue in Cloquet. The witness also reported she saw the male put the bat back into his vehicle before leaving the scene.

Reports say officers also received another report regarding a suspicious gray crew cab truck at Pinehurst Park. They were able to locate the truck's driver, who was later identified as Matthew William Johnson, a 26-year-old Duluth resident.

Cloquet police observed Johnson had a "fresh bleeding cut on his hand" and when questioned about it, he told the officer that he "got hit by a mosquito."

The officer found the cut "inconsistent with a mosquito bite," and he observed a baseball bat inside the vehicle along with glass shards, so Johnson was taken into custody. It was then that the officer also noticed the suspect had "glass shards attached to the bottom of his shoe."

Get our free mobile app

Matthew William Johnson was arrested shortly after at 8:55 p.m. He has been charged with first-degree felony damage to property and he remains in Carlton County Jail into the week on $15,000 bail.

Johnson, who has no felony criminal history, is scheduled for an omnibus hearing at 9:00 a.m. on November 4 in District Court in Carlton.

According to Pine Knot News, Carmen LaPlant, the owner of Burger's Shoes, reported to authorities that she did not know the suspect. She also added that she had replaced all four windows two years ago for $10,000. That figure is what brought the felony-level charge.

The Northland Rallies Support For Burger's Shoes

Since that unfortunate event, Carmen LaPlant has quickly taken action to keep her store open by boarding up the broken windows and making it clear that despite the attack on her business she is open for business.

There has also been a strong show of support for LaPlant and Burger's Shoes throughout social media, including a post on the Cloquet MN Community Development Facebook page.

SEE NOW: Duluth’s Chick-fil-A Makes Surprise Announcement Ahead Of Opening Date

The recent post has already been shared over 130 times and residents from all over the Northland have commented to show their support and pledge to visit the store to buy merchandise.

One resident even shared a photo of a Burger's receipt from a purchase they had just made to show support. I don't doubt that this initial strong show of support continues long after the broken windows and been replaced.