Brainerd Man Wanted on Dept. of Corrections Warrant Arrested

Justin Cronquist (Credit: Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office)

A 36-year-old Brainerd man wanted by the state on an active warrant was arrested Thursday morning after a search warrant was executed on his residence in Brainerd.

According to the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office, at around 9:15 a.m. on December 5th, Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office Tactical Response Team executed a search warrant at a residence on 2nd Avenue on the east side of Brainerd. The action followed information that Justin Cronquist, a man wanted by the Minnesota Department of Corrections for violating conditions of his release, was present at the home. He was located inside and arrested after he failed to comply with orders to exit.

Court documents show Cronquist was found guilty of third-degree felony burglary and received a 27-month sentence in February 2022 for breaking and entering into buildings in rural Itasca County and stealing several items.

Cronquist was originally meant to serve only two-thirds of his sentence in prison, while the rest of the sentence was meant to be on supervised release. But Cronquist would serve the full 27 months in prison after he violated the conditions of his probation twice.

Court documents indicate that Cronquist’s criminal history goes back to early 2006. He has received felony convictions for theft, drug possession, and false imprisonment, as well as several misdemeanors for disorderly conduct, domestic assault, fleeing, theft, damage to property, and giving a false name to a peace officer.

Cronquist is currently being held at the Crow Wing County Jail.