One of Vance Boelter's personal vehicles, closely resembling a police squad car, is towed from his residence on Fremont Avenue N. in Minneapolis. (Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Boelter spent most of his professional life in the food industry, working for producers and distribution companies, including Gold ‘n Plump, Johnsonville, the sausage company, and Del Monte Foods.
He rose to plant manager of Lettieri’s food distribution center in Shakopee, a major supplier of food-to-go items such as breakfast sandwiches to convenience stores around the United States. According to his LinkedIn profile, Boelter left Lettieri’s after nearly five years in 2016.
He tried to reinvent himself as an entrepreneur, but nothing worked out.
In 2018, Boelter and his wife started Praetorian Guard Security Services — named after the Imperial Roman army guard — with the help of a cousin, Todd Boelter, who spent 28 years in law enforcement before retiring in 2013, according to an employment history he submitted to the state. Jenny Boelter was listed as the owner and their oldest daughter, Grace, was the chief financial officer. None could be reached for comment.
On the company’s website, Vance Boelter boasted that his experience included being “involved with security situations in Eastern Europe, Africa, North America and the Middle East, including the West Bank, Southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.” Boelter also claimed to have received training by both private security firms and people in the U.S. military.
The company offered residential security patrols and uniformed security, and was about to move into event security services, according to the website, which has since been taken down.