A 34-year-old Kenyon man faces burglary charges after allegedly breaking into two properties in Garrison.
Justin D. Stevenson had his first appearance Tuesday in Crow Wing County District Court in Brainerd in front of Judge Richard Zimmerman. He was charged with two felonies of first-degree burglary of a dwelling and third-degree burglary with the intent to steal and misdemeanor of tampering with a vehicle.
The judge granted Stevenson a public defender to represent him and he was released on the same day as his court appearance. His next court appearance is 1:30 p.m. Sept. 18.
According to the probable cause court document filed against Stevenson, Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office was dispatched at 10:14 a.m. Sunday to a report of a burglary in progress at a residence on the 6100 block of Holiday Harbor Drive in Garrison. Information received at the time was the reporting party encountered an unknown male inside the residence when he was checking the property for his neighbor.
While deputies were en route to the area, the 911 dispatch center advised them of another report from a second residence on the same block in Garrison of a male-matching the description of the suspect-who was trying to get into a silver Buick parked in a driveway.
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Deputies located Stevenson at a residence to the east of where the reports were made and he was seated on a four-wheeler with a bag on one arm and an unknown item in his right hand. The defendant was ordered off the four-wheeler at gunpoint and was directed to get onto the ground, the complaint stated. Stevenson complied, dropping the items he was holding.
Once Stevenson was secured, deputies noticed the items he had been holding were a wallet not belonging to him and a thumb drive. The four-wheeler Stevenson was sitting on had been plugged in with an extension cord and was now unplugged. A saw and branch cutter had been taken off the garage wall and placed on the rear rack of the four-wheeler. He also had a Costco bag with frozen pizzas and other food that had been taken from the first residence, the complaint stated.
Stevenson provided a mirandized statement where he admitted to entering the first residence without permission and stealing items including the jacket, Costco bag and various food items. He also went into the vehicle at the second residence looking for keys, but decided not to steal the vehicle. He then entered the garage at the third property without permission, where he was located by law enforcement.
