Fergus Falls man gets 30 months for Casey’s burglary

A Fergus Falls man was sent to state prison Wednesday for a burglary at the Casey’s on East Vernon Avenue, a case that put employee access and after-hours security at the center of a local felony. Justin Michael Hanson, 40, received a 30-month sentence at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud after entering an Alford plea in June.

The sentence stemmed from a second-degree burglary at Casey’s, 625 E Vernon Ave, one of the city’s most familiar fuel-and-convenience stops. The store sells fuel, diesel, bakery items, breakfast pizza, sandwiches, wings and other everyday items, which made the case stand out locally: a routine neighborhood business became the target of an inside-assisted burglary tied to a former employee.

Court-document reporting tied the case to an early-morning burglary on Dec. 18, 2024, when Fergus Falls police were dispatched to the East Vernon Avenue store. Investigators said three suspects entered with a key, used a code to disable the security system, and unplugged the security cameras before taking about $5,000 in cash and more than 30 cartons of cigarettes. Earlier reporting identified the other suspects as Jennifer Joyce Loomer and Ryan Joseph McGuire, and described Hanson and Loomer as former Casey’s employees.

That detail matters for local retailers because it points to a different kind of risk than a smash-and-grab break-in. The reported method of entry, with a key and a security code already in hand, suggests the store’s weakest point was not the front door but insider access and trust. For small-business owners and managers in Fergus Falls, the case is a reminder that after-hours controls, key distribution and alarm procedures can be just as important as locks and cameras.

Otter Tail County District Court in Fergus Falls has original jurisdiction over criminal cases filed in the county, and Hanson’s sentence now becomes part of the public record there. The prison term means he will be removed from the Fergus Falls area for an extended period, while the Casey’s burglary remains a local example of how theft from a familiar store can escalate into a serious felony with real consequences for employees, customers and neighborhood businesses.