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Tim Nelson
St. Paul

Charges: Mendota Heights murder suspect left trail of mayhem

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Lucifer Vincent Nguyen
Lucifer Vincent Nguyen
Mendota Heights police

Updated: 5:05 p.m. | Posted: 2:46 p.m.

Murder charges have been filed against the fugitive thought to have killed a woman in a Mendota Heights crime spree over the weekend.

Lucifer Nguyen, 44, of New Hope, faces second degree murder, aggravated robbery, burglary and kidnapping charges.

According to the criminal complaint, Nguyen approached a home in Mendota Heights, knocked on the door and appeared to leave after asking about who lived there. He later entered the home and held a woman and her 2-year-old grandchild at gunpoint, took her wallet and cash and fled.

She reported he'd driven away in a white Toyota, and offered police a partial plate. Police spotted the car nearby, but the driver fled and later crashed into a nearby pond. The robbery victim's wallet was found in the car.

Police subsequently got a report that an armed man had forced his way into a senior living facility nearby. Police believe Nguyen threatened an employee with a handgun to gain entry, forced her into a laundry room and took her work keys.

As authorities were evacuating the White Pine Senior Living facility, police got a report of blood seeping out from under a door in an office suite in a building nearby. Officers entered the building and found Beverly Cory, 48, dead of a single gunshot wound to the head.

Her car couldn't initially be located. Investigators found it at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Lake Elmo. A neighbor there reported he'd been approached by a man matching Nguyen's description about 11 a.m. on Saturday, asking for a ride to a nearby casino.

Investigators also found Nguyen had purchased a cell phone about three miles away, at the Walmart in Oak Park Heights about 1:30 p.m.

Local, state and federal authorities have all joined in the search for Nguyen. Mendota Heights Police Chief Kelly McCarthy said the suspect is considered armed and dangerous.

"We are asking the public take general precautions by locking homes and vehicles," she said in a statement on the search for Nguyen.

McCarthy said Nguyen may be on foot, asking for rides or using public transportation to get around. Authorities are asking anyone who spots him to call 911, and anyone with other information about his whereabouts to call the Dakota County Sheriff's Office at 651-438-8477.