Shakopee student charged in Prior Lake burglary makes first court appearance

Shakopee Valley News

A Shakopee High School student charged in connection with a Prior Lake burglary made her first court appearance Monday in Scott County District Court.

Nancy Lino, 18, is charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree burglary with a dangerous weapon and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon for a Dec. 29 burglary where shots were fired at a homeowner and his dog, and the dog was struck.

A pretrial hearing was set for 1 p.m. on April 13.

Lino sat on the left side of the courtroom, surrounded by family and friends. In between talks with her lawyer, she laughed and chatted. She waived the right to have the criminal complaint read aloud. In a matter of minutes, the hearing was set and Lino and her family and friends headed out of the courtroom.

According to the charging documents: A homeowner in the 3500 block of Falcon Circle was watching TV with his son around 7:45 p.m. on Dec. 29 when he heard someone open the front door. He went to go check who it was and allegedly found Lino and a 17-year-old Shakopee male, whose name was not released by authorities because he is a juvenile.

The homeowner's dog began to bark at Lino and the male, who allegedly shot the dog in the head. The homeowner said 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 take whatever they wanted and leave.

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

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

Then Burnsville police received a report that a Chevrolet Equinox was stolen on Jan. 2. After a pursuit in Scott County, the vehicle was stopped and two suspects, including the aforementioned 17-year-old male, were taken into custody. Inside the Chevrolet Equinox police found a key fob that could open and start the SUV from the Prior Lake burglary.

Police also recovered a cell phone that appeared to belong to the male burglary suspect. Messages to and from "Nancy Lino" or "Queen" were found on the phone. At 7:02 p.m. on Dec. 29, less than 45 minutes before the home invasion and the burglary, the 17-year-old male sent a message to Lino that said "Imma scoop I gotchu." "Scoop" is slang for going to pick someone up, according to court documents.

The male told Burnsville police on Jan. 18 he was robbed and assaulted while trying to sell drugs to someone the day before. He was taken to the hospital for injuries and DNA was retrieved after a search warrant was executed. The boy began to talk about the home invasion in Prior Lake, another shooting and other stolen vehicles. He was arrested and identified Lino as his girlfriend.

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

If convicted, Lino could face a maximum of 47 years of prison and $149,000 in fines.