On the run after police say he robbed a grandmother at gunpoint and crashed his car into a pond, Lucifer Vincent Nguyen dashed into an office building in Mendota Heights.

The career criminal happened upon Beverly Cory, a 48-year-old Maplewood resident working on Saturday morning as a financial adviser for Edward Jones. Moments later, Nguyen shot Cory once in the head, killing her, authorities said Monday.

He then grabbed the keys to her black 2005 Toyota Corolla and made his way out of the area.

Nguyen, 44, remains at large and should be considered to be armed and dangerous, police said.

On Monday, Dakota County prosecutors charged Nguyen with second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree aggravated robbery and one count each of first-degree burglary and kidnapping in connection with the series of events Saturday morning in the usually serene suburb.

Also Monday, authorities said Cory’s car was found abandoned Sunday at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Baytown Township.

A nationwide arrest warrant for Nguyen was issued Monday afternoon, though investigators believe he may still be in the Twin Cities metro area.

“This is obviously a very disturbing situation and just a terrible tragedy in our community,” Dakota County Attorney Jim Backstrom said. “And our hearts go out to the victim who lost her life and the other victims who were accosted as well.”

Nguyen is described as Asian, about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Nguyen’s last known address is in Minneapolis, but recent court records list a New Hope address for him.

“Everyone is hopeful that he’ll be located soon and arrested without further harm to anyone,” Backstrom said. “Let’s hope and pray for that.”

Nguyen may be on foot, asking people for a ride or taking public transportation, Mendota Heights Police Chief Kelly McCarthy said.

“We are asking that the public take general precautions by locking homes and vehicles and call 911 to report any suspicious activity or possible sightings of Nguyen,” she said in prepared statement Monday afternoon.

IT STARTED WITH A HOME INVASION

The chain of events that led to the shooting began at about 9 a.m. Saturday, after a report of a home invasion by a man with a pistol in the 1600 block of Delaware Avenue.

According to the criminal charges against Nguyen:

A woman told police that she was in her home with her 2-year-old grandchild when a man knocked on the front door and asked if it was the “Miller” residence. She told him it was not and he got inside a white sedan and left.

A short time later, the woman was in her bedroom with the child when the man entered, pulled out a handgun and demanded money. He took her cash and wallet and left.

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Officers pursued the car, which crashed in a pond. The suspect fled on foot. Items found in the car linked it to Nguyen, whom the woman later identified in a photo lineup as the man who robbed her.

At about 9:07 a.m., officers were called to White Pine Senior Living near Dodd Road and Minnesota 110 on a report that a man with a pistol had forced his way into the building. An employee told police a man with a gun, whom she later identified as Nguyen, forced her into a laundry room and took her work keys.

While residents were being evacuated from the senior care facility, officers received a report that blood was seeping underneath a door in a suite at a business center across the street.

Tactical officers entered Mendota Heights Business Center and found Cory on the floor. An autopsy determined she died of a single gunshot wound to the head.

A homeowner who lives across the street from the Washington County Fairgrounds — where Cory’s car was found Sunday — told investigators that he was approached about 11 a.m. Saturday by a man who matched the description of Nguyen and requested a ride to a nearby casino. The homeowner declined to give him a ride.

Investigators also learned that Nguyen bought a cellphone at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Oak Park Heights Walmart, about three miles from the fairgrounds.

‘SHOCKED AND SADDENED’

Cory’s LinkedIn page shows she had been a financial adviser at the Edward Jones office in the Mendota Heights Business Center since 2003 and that she graduated from St. Catherine University in St. Paul.

On Monday, the St. Louis-based financial services company issued the following statement:

“We’re shocked and saddened by the news that one of our financial advisors, Bev Cory, was senselessly killed Saturday morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends at this tragic time. Naturally, we are cooperating with law enforcement in the ongoing investigation to apprehend her killer.”

Cory was married and “also one of the kindest people you’ve ever met,” read a Facebook post by Lavender Magazine, a Twin Cities publication that caters to the gay and lesbian community.

“We join the community in grieving for Beverly, and our thoughts are with her wife, Kim, and Beverly’s family and friends,” the post read. “The world is a little less bright with her passing.”

Judy Osland, whose daughter Kim was married to Cory, described her on Facebook as a “beautiful soul” and “kind heart” who had a “funny bone that made me laugh.

“Thank you for all your efforts in consoling our daughter and attempting to apprehend this criminal,” she wrote.

NGUYEN’S CRIMINAL PAST

In Minnesota, Nguyen has been convicted of misdemeanor theft and drunken driving.

He’s also been charged in Wisconsin. He’s due to appear in a Superior courtroom next month on felony battery and drug charges, and he recently pleaded no contest in a hit-and-run in Superior involving an unattended vehicle.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact the Dakota County sheriff’s office tip line at 651-438-8477 or call 911.