Attorney asks judge to dismiss charges against Shakopee student charged in Prior Lake burglary

The attorney for an 18-year-old Shakopee woman charged in connection to a Dec. 29 Prior Lake burglary has asked the judge to dismiss the charges for lack of probable cause.

Nancy Lino, a student at Shakopee High School, was charged in January in Scott County District Court with first-degree burglary, first-degree burglary with a dangerous weapon and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

A 17-year-old male, also from Shakopee — whose name was not released by authorities because he's a juvenile — is the primary suspect in the case. Lino's attorney told Judge Christian Wilton that the male had told police in interviews he told Lino the house they were entering was his.

Lino's attorney, DeAundres Wilson, told the judge during an omnibus hearing on Thursday that both the juvenile male and Lino had told police that she did not know the male's intent (who had allegedly gone to the home earlier in the day with someone else) nor that the home wasn't his until he started shooting.

The juvenile male told police that he was Lino's boyfriend.

According to the charging documents:

A homeowner in the 3500 block of Falcon Circle was watching television with his son on Dec. 29 around 7:45 p.m. when he heard someone open the front door. He went to investigate and allegedly found Lino and the juvenile male.

The homeowner's dog began to bark at the pair and the male allegedly shot the dog in the head. The homeowner told police he motioned for his son to run upstairs. The male then allegedly started shooting at the homeowner, who told police he hid behind the kitchen table and asked the pair to take whatever they wanted and leave.

Police responded to the scene of the shooting and found bullet holes in the wall, shell casings on the floor and the dog bleeding from the mouth. The homeowner told police the suspects fled in a light-colored SUV.

The vehicle was later identified with the assistance of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community as one that had been stolen from Eagan the day before. It was later found at the Mobile Manor Trailer Park in Shakopee.

Burnsville police received a report that a Chevrolet Equinox had been stolen on Jan. 2. That vehicle was eventually stopped and two suspects, including the male, were taken into custody. Police found a key fob inside the Chevrolet Equinox that could open and start the SUV from the Prior Lake burglary.

Police also recovered a cell phone from the male with messages to and from "Nancy Lino" or "Queen." The male had sent a text to Lino 45 minutes before the burglary that said "Imma scoop I gotchu." "Scoop" is slang for going to pick someone up, according to court documents.

Through more investigation, 13 other crimes, including 10 vehicle thefts, a robbery and another shooting spanning seven communities across three counties have been linked to the male, according to the Prior Lake Police Department.

Wilton said he will issue an order regarding the charge dismissals before another omnibus hearing on Aug. 7 at 8:30 a.m.