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Police say a 23-year-old student was apartment-hunting on the afternoon of Aug. 17 when he ran across a “for rent” sign at 276 Lafayette St. and tried calling the posted number. When his calls didn’t go through, the student noticed Anthony James Brown, 18, on the front steps.
Brown, who rents the upstairs portion of the residence and is not the building’s owner, assumed the role of manager, police said, showing the student the available apartment. Brown eventually collected $1,200 from the student for a security deposit and first month’s rent after the student filled out paper work, documents show.
When the student arrived to move in Friday, the real landlord was there and had no idea the student was moving in. The police arrived, and the landlord told them Brown had no authority to rent out the property.
Brown made admissions to officers and returned at least some of the money, Deputy Chief Paul Bostrack said. Brown was not arrested.
According to Minnesota court records, Brown is being evicted from 276 Lafayette St. The landlord filed a complaint Monday, and a hearing is scheduled for Sept. 5.
Brown is currently facing unrelated charges of theft, issuing dishonored checks and check forgery. He is also accused of participating in the April theft of 600 pounds of scrap metal from Behrens Manufacturing. Brown admitted to prosecutors that he helped Brett John Dennis, 21, and Justin Allan Forhan, 20, bring the scrap metal to La Crosse to recycle it for money. All three have court dates scheduled in September.
