Chatfield, Wykoff trio charged with lottery fraud, will not stand trial; cases diverted
MGN / Lottery
(ABC 6 News) – In early December, three teenagers accused of lottery fraud and burglary were diverted from Olmsted County Court’s trial schedule.
Treyton Jay Lanning, Gabriel Earl Erding, and Kieran Paul O’Conner, were accepted into the Olmsted County Pre-Trial Diversion Program, which attempts to channel criminal offenders into community rehabilitation or training, rather than incarceration.
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(ABC 6 News) – Three Fillmore County teenagers face multiple charges of 2022 State Lottery fraud, burglary, and theft after allegedly stealing and cashing in scratch-off tickets.
According to court records, Treyton Jay Lanning, 18, Gabriel Earl Erding, 18, and Kieran Paul O’Conner, 19, were accused in Olmsted County of cashing in 13 of a number of stolen lottery tickets for a total of $585 in winnings.
Lanning, a manager at a Chatfield grocery store, faces 14 total charges: nine counts of felony state lottery fraud–claim prize by fraud/deceit; two charges of felony 3rd-degree burglary; one charge of gross misdemeanor theft; and two charges of misdemeanor receiving stolen property.
Erding and O’Conner face five charges each.
Erding is charged with one count of felony state lottery fraud–claim prize by fraud/deceit; two charges of felony 3rd-degree burglary; one charge of gross misdemeanor theft; and one charge of misdemeanor receiving stolen property.
O’Conner faces two charges of felony state lottery fraud–claim prize by fraud/deceit; one count of felony 3rd-degree burglary; one charge of gross misdemeanor theft; and one charge of misdemeanor receiving stolen property.
According to court documents, on November 17, 2022, the Chatfield Police Department began investigating nine lottery ticket thefts from a Chatfield grocery store.
A store employee told police that the tickets were stolen between 3:30 p.m. Nov. 16, when the ticket inventory was correct, and 9 p.m. that night, when several tickets went missing.
The employee called the Minnesota Lottery Office to report the theft and was told three of the tickets were winners and had been cashed in the previous night.
On Nov. 18, the employee spoke to Chatfield police again, saying he had discovered a total of 29 missing tickets. Some of the tickets had been entered as sold in the inventory, but a check of the computer system revealed they had been stolen.
Another store employee who was working the night of Nov. 16 told police he believed that one of the “young managers” who had a key to the store could have come in after the store closed and taken the tickets. The second employee mentioned that Erding, who appears to also be a manager, Lanning, and another individual listed in police records were often left inside the store after closing.
The witnesses allegedly identified suspects photographed turning in the lottery tickets at a gas station as Lanning and Erding.
According to court documents, the gas station’s surveillance footage showed Lanning turning in around 15 scratch-off tickets on the night of Nov. 16, six of which were from the Chatfield grocery store, and four of which were winners.
On Nov. 17, the footage allegedly showed all three teens entering the store, with Erding handing over around four tickets, Lanning handing over four tickets, and O’Conner handing over two. Lanning allegedly collected the winnings.
According to court documents, officers then spoke to Erding, who identified Lanning and O’Conner in the gas station photos.
Erding allegedly said he did not buy lottery tickets that night, and did not want to say who had given them to him.
According to court documents, Lanning admitted to police that he knew the lottery tickets were stolen when he cashed them in, and that the three had gone to the store after closing, then split the winnings three ways.
Lanning told police Erding changed the store’s lottery inventory.
Lanning’s next Olmsted County Court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 13. Erding is scheduled to appear Sept. 19, and O’Conner is scheduled to appear Oct. 26.