Police in La Crosse say a Minnesota man stole $16,000 worth of camera equipment when he killed a father and son in their photography shop last month. Police Chief Ron Tischer told reporters Thursday that surveillance video showed 39 year-old Jeffrey Lepsch entering and leaving May’s Photo, on September 15th, the day 56 year-old shop owner Paul Petras and his 19 year-old son A.J. were shot-to-death.
Tischer said investigators traced a blue van to the Lepsch home in Dakota, Minnesota, where they recovered 14 pieces of camera equipment which belonged to May’s Photo.
A warrant issued Wednesday charged Lepsch with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide. Lepsch did not resist when he was arrested outside his home. Additional charges of armed robbery, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, were issued on Thursday. An extradition hearing is scheduled in Winona Minnesota.
Lepsch spent a year in jail after he was arrested in 2003 for stealing thousands of dollars in merchandise from an Ace Hardware distribution center in La Crosse.
WAYY