Central Park Laptop Snatcher Sentenced

The man convicted of snatching the laptop of a resident who was sitting at a table at Central Park in April has been sentenced to five years of probation.

Terrance Daronze Hardie, 19, of St. Paul, was captured just a few hours after the April 9 heist, in which he and two others approached a man at Central Park, took his laptop and fled the facility, with the victim giving chase.

“Right in broad daylight they grabbed the laptop and ran out the door,” police spokeswoman Michelle Okada said at the time.

Surveillance video from Central Park corroborated the victim’s account of the theft, which occurred at about 12:30 p.m., the complaint says.

At about 2:14 p.m. that day, a Woodbury officer saw the suspect vehicle, a black Chevy SUV, speeding near Radio Drive and Lake Road, police told Patch.

The three men in the SUV matched the description given in the theft at Central Park, according to the complaint, and the $1,400 laptop was found in the vehicle.

The computer was later returned to the victim.

During an interview with officers, Hardie admitted he stole the computer, and said he did so because he couldn’t find a job and was tired of not having any money, according to the complaint.

Other conditions of his release include remaining law abiding, a $100 fine, 56 days in jail and submitting to random drug testing.

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