US man sentenced in elaborate phone theft ring that targeted intoxicated bar patrons

Between June 2021 and May 2022, Johnson and the other members of the theft ring used a handful of tactics to steal phones from people – many of whom were intoxicated – at downtown Minneapolis bars, according to the criminal complaint against him. — Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash

A St Paul man was sentenced on March 7 to nearly eight years in prison for his role in an elaborate phone theft ring that targeted downtown Minneapolis bar patrons.

Aaron Tracey Johnson, 26, pleaded guilty last week to one count of racketeering in the scheme, which cost its dozens of victims hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to documents filed in Hennepin County District Court.