Ivan Karkoc, 22, of San Leandro, California, and Stephan Karkoc, 29, of Ramsey, Minnesota, were charged before Judge Amy Brosnahan on Dec. 20 in Isanti County District Court in Cambridge with felony third-degree burglary.
Bail for Ivan was set at $10,000 without conditions or $1,000 with conditions, and his next court appearance was set for Jan. 11.
Bail for Stephan was set at $40,000 without conditions or $20,000 with conditions, and his next court appearance was set for Jan. 5.
The alleged burglary took place during a snow storm on Dec. 17 at West Cambridge Auto Salvage, 1012 Highway 95 NW, after an alarm was triggered around 1:30 a.m.
Isanti County Sheriff Chris Caulk said property owners need to remain diligent even during the winter season.
“This case shows that even during a blizzard, if you see something suspicious, give us a call, because people are still out committing crimes even in the worst of weather,” Caulk said. “This case also reminds us about the importance of having a good alarm system. In this case, the alarm was triggered and we were able to respond in a very quick fashion.”
Caulk also reminds people to not touch a possible crime scene.
“Weather doesn’t deter criminal activity and it’s unfortunate, but with the times we live in, alarms are your friend and are very beneficial to notifying the property owner and law enforcement,” Caulk said. “But we also want to remind people to not touch anything. When we get there, you will point us in the direction of the evidence, but please let us process it from there.”
According to the criminal complaint:
Isanti County Deputy Matt Burkhardt responded along with the owner of the business. Upon arrival, the owner reported someone had been in the shop and he had just heard a car start up in the woods to the east of the shop.
Burkhardt observed a SUV pulling out of the woods and initiated a traffic stop. Stephan told Burkhardt he and his brother are homeless and were looking for a warm place to sleep.
Isanti County Deputy John McCarty arrived on scene and followed the tire tracks from the SUV in the fresh snow. The tire tracks led to an area approximately 20 feet from the east fence of the salvage yard. Shoe prints from the vehicle led to the 6-foot-high perimeter fence. There, McCarty found the fence had been cut from the top to the bottom and was peeled open. The shoe prints entered the salvage yard and led to a window on the west side of a building. The window was removed, and it appeared entry was made into the building at this location.
McCarty walked through the building with the owner who reported numerous tools were missing that included sockets, wrenches, air tools, hand tools and cordless battery-powered hand tools.
Inside of the building, McCarty and the owner located plastic pails and duffle bags containing multiple tools. The owner reported the tools were missing from their usual locations and that neither he nor his employees keep tools in pails or duffle bags.
A black handled wire cutter was located on the floor next to a sliding door that was found to be unsecured. On the south side of the building, small chunks of snow and boot prints were located on the floor.
On the west side of the building, where entry was made through a window, McCarty and the owner located a bag staged by the window that contained cordless battery powered tools. On the southwest side of the building, McCarty and the owner located a bag that contained tools that were removed from their usual locations in the shop.
A right handed glove was found on a work bench in the shop, and a matching left handed glove was found in the SUV during an inventory search.
Burkhardt interviewed Stephen, who said, under Miranda, at most, he could be charged with trespassing. He denied cutting the fence, and said Ivan also didn’t cut the fence. He refused to answer whether he entered the salvage yard or the building. He said he and his brother are homeless and going through a lot and were back in the woods having a talk. Ivan refused to provide a statement.
