Updated at: 11/20/2009 9:44 PM
By: Laura Kennedy
lkennedy@wdio.com

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Burglary Suspect Charged

A spokesperson for the UMD sports department says Mark Allen Lewis seemed like a nice kid. We've been asked by police not to show Lewis' picture, because police are looking into his possible involvement in other crimes, which may include photo lineups.

Lewis' website bio says he is from Cleveland and played football at Mesabi Range College a few years ago before joining the UMD team this summer as a "walk on."

"Mark had approached our coaches about trying out with our football team and he played here about two weeks in the preseason," said Bob Nygaard, UMD sports information director. "I think his actual last day of practice was around September 4th, just before Labor Day."

Nygaard says Lewis and the team simply parted ways and the coaching staff hasn't heard from him since. Lewis appeared in court today and was charged with three counts of felony burglary. Lewis admitted to the judge he made a mistake. According to the criminal complaint, Lewis broke into three different homes over the past two months. One woman told police she woke up and found a man inside her bedroom. Another victim said the door to his home was kicked in. Two victims were able to identify Lewis in a photo lineup. Police said it appeared no items were taken. Nygaard says as a parent, it's disappointing to hear about a young man in trouble.

"I'm a father and a citizen of Duluth, and I think anytime this happens, you just shake your head and hate to see something like this happen to anybody," Nygaard said.