A detailed, hand-drawn map of the Congdon Park residence where a home invasion burglary was committed last summer has been introduced as potential evidence, and a St. Louis County prosecutor wants the three defendants in the case to provide handwriting samples to Duluth police.
David Earl Schiller and Jonathan Gary Phipps, both 19 and from Two Harbors, are each charged with first-degree burglary and two counts of kidnapping. They are accused of breaking into the Congdon Park home while a woman and her 9-year-old son were sleeping on the morning of Aug. 30. They are accused of threatening to kill the boy if his mother didn't tell them what they wanted to know. The hands of the woman and her son were bound with white electrical zip ties.
Ian Robert Guzzo, 19, of Two Harbors, is charged with aiding and abetting first-degree burglary. According to the criminal complaint against Guzzo, he was a hockey teammate of a member of the victims' family. Guzzo often spent the night at the residence during the hockey season. Guzzo told police that he had several conversations with Schiller over the summer in reference to the victims' family and the layout of the house, the complaint alleged.
The three-page map was found during an execution of a search warrant at Schiller's mother's house in Lexington, Minn. Duluth police said the person or persons who illustrated the map had to be very familiar with the inside of the residence.
The map includes the location of the house, roads near it, detailed drawings of each floor of the house, the location of furniture, televisions, computer, a safe, the direction of stairs, what each room was used for and what else it contained.
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One page of the map includes the names of all residents of the home, ages of the four children and what vehicles the family drives.
St. Louis County prosecutor Mark Rubin filed a motion -- made public this week -- asking the court to order the three defendants to provide handwriting samples to Duluth police. Duluth defense attorney William Paul, who represents Guzzo, said he will oppose the motion.
"Ian Guzzo has been charged, arrested and spent several days in jail,'' Paul said. "Now the state wants to get additional discovery [evidence] to support its actions. That is tantamount to admitting that they didn't have enough evidence in the first place.''
A hearing on the handwriting sample issue has been scheduled for Tuesday before 6th Judicial District Judge Shaun Floerke.
In a hearing last month, Paul asked the court to throw out the case against his client.
"In order to be convicted of aiding and abetting there has to be accomplice testimony against the person accused of aiding and abetting,'' Paul said. "In this case, the alleged accomplice, David Schiller, has not suggested or implied that Ian Guzzo had anything to do with the incident and, indeed, affirmatively stated that he did not.''
However, the newest round of court filings by the prosecution includes a police report stating that Schiller told police that Guzzo provided him information about the Hurley house. Paul said that is no evidence of criminal behavior by his client.
Rubin also filed a document informing the court that "Guzzo did receive, transfer, buy or conceal stolen property, to wit: property stolen [from a Lake County burglary] on July 5, 2007, two pieces of jewelry, knowing or having reason to know the property was stolen.''
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Lake County Sheriff's deputies checked several pawn shops in Duluth and found that jewelry stolen in the burglary was recorded in pawn shop records as being pawned by Guzzo. However, he was not charged with a crime. Stolen in the same Lake County home burglary were two firearms that were recovered when a search warrant was executed at co-defendant Schiller's St. Paul apartment. Police also recovered a hand-drawn map used in the Lake County burglary.
"It's unfair that the state is trying to connect these two unrelated incidents to attempt to prove that Ian Guzzo had something to do with the [Congdon Park] home burglary,'' Paul said. "It's at a minimum unfair and the court will address whether it's permissible.''
Rubin declined to comment Wednesday.
Schiller is being held in the St. Louis County Jail on $200,000 bail. Phipps is free after posting a $200,000 bond.
Guzzo, a member of the 2007 Duluth Marshall High School Minnesota Class A state hockey tournament runner-up team, is now playing for the Alexandria Blizzard of the North American Hockey League while free on $50,000 bail.
MARK STODGHILL covers public safety and courts. He can be reached weekdays at (218) 723-5333 or by e-mail at mstodghill@duluthnews.com .
