An engaged couple is accused of burglarizing a Randle trucking and construction company while attempting to steal a roll of wires from an electrical shed.
According to the company, Q King Trucking & Construction, the cost to repair the wiring to make the shed operable again is upwards of $3,000.
Randle residents Morgan March, 30, and Trevor J. Roberts, 29, are both charged with single counts of second-degree burglary, second-degree malicious mischief and third-degree theft.
They face up to 10 years in prison for the burglary charge, and up to five years in prison for the malicious mischief charge. Third-degree theft is considered a gross misdemeanor.
March and Roberts made preliminary appearances in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday.
Judge Paul Strophy set March’s bail at $5,000 cash or bond. He later set Roberts’ bail at $10,000 cash or bond to account for Roberts’ criminal history which, according to prosecutors, includes convictions for second-degree theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, identity theft, first-degree trafficking in stolen property and second-degree vehicle prowling.
Defense attorney Rachael Tiller noted during the hearing that March and Roberts were engaged, lived together and worked together. She said Roberts had family in the courtroom.
Strophy agreed with Tiller’s recommendation that the couple be allowed to have contact with each other while the case is pending, so long as they don’t discuss the case.
According to a written report from the investigating Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputy, March and Roberts were allegedly photographed by two cameras walking toward a rock pit on the company’s property, with Roberts holding a pair of bolt cutters.
They were photographed again walking away from the pit, this time with Roberts allegedly carrying the wiring and March carrying the bolt cutters.
When the deputy first contacted Roberts on the phone on March 25, Roberts allegedly denied being at the rock pit and said “he did not feel safe” because he and his fiancée had been chased on Falls Road.
The owner of the company had previously told law enforcement that Roberts had been on the property multiple times, including the most recent instance.
The deputy reportedly told Roberts there was video showing Roberts at the pit, and informed him he would be charged with criminal trespass if he returned to the property.
The deputy then spoke with the company’s owner, who reported that the suspects had cut a lock on an electrical shed, cut wiring, and then taken wiring from the shed, according to the report.
Upon arriving at the business, the deputy reportedly observed the bolt cutters used and the lock that had been cut off the shed.
According to the report, the deputy noted shoe prints coming down to the pit and then leading back up to the road. He then saw where the wiring “had been stashed.”
A representative of the company noted that, while the wiring “was only worth a few dollars in
scrap,” the cost to make the shed operable again “would be about $2,500 to $3,000.”
Deputies arrested the suspects at about noon on March 27 and booked them into the Lewis County Jail.
March and Roberts are scheduled to appear for arraignments on April 2.
