A Cambridge Township resident is facing six felony charges after allegedly being in the possession of over $35,000 in stolen items.
Jason Edward Southworth, 42, was charged before Judge James Dehn Nov. 17 in Isanti County District Court in Cambridge with five felony counts of receiving stolen property and felony fifth-degree drug possession. Dehn set Southworth’s bail at $100,000 without conditions or $50,000 with conditions and his next court appearance for Dec. 9.
Isanti County Investigator Rob Bowker explained approximately $8,325 of the $35,000 in stolen property has been recovered by the victims. He explained the case involves stolen property from a construction trailer in Isanti Township, a residential burglary in Cambridge, a residential burglary in Bradford Township, and theft from a motor vehicle parked at the Lake Fannie public access east of Cambridge.
The case broke after a female called 911 to ask if an officer could meet her at a storage locker, registered to Southworth, so she could collect some of her personal belongings. The female said after she had unloaded much of property into her vehicle, she and Southworth started to argue over the phone and she requested an officer present while she collected her remaining items. When the female opened a storage tin, Deputy Doug Barron recognized one of the items inside the storage tin as reported stolen from a recent residential burglary.
“This case involved 27 hours of work including the search warrant, identifying victims and laying out all the items for the victims to look at,” Bowker said. “I had 116 items listed in the search warrant from the four victims who had recently reported stolen property.”
Bowker said in particular, law enforcement recovered a pair of Shift camo snowpants and a Cambridge-Isanti baseball cap, probably belonging to a high-school age child. Fishing equipment, DeWalt tools and a Husky tool bag were also recovered. If anyone has noticed these items missing from their possession, they should call Bowker at 763-691-2414 or email rob.bowker@sheriff.co.isanti.mn.us.
As part of the case, Bowker said officers were also able to return a tackle box to its owner who never even reported it stolen. Inside the tackle box was a fishing license from 2008, and Bowker said they were able to track down the owner of the missing tackle box from the address on the license.
Isanti County Sheriff Chris Caulk said the case is a good reminder for residents to have a good listing of property they own, and makes, models and serial numbers for more expensive property.
“The victims in this case all had a complete listing of what was taken and a good description of their missing items,” Caulk said. “This case was solved due to the vigilance of Deputy Doug Barron and recognizing items that were reported as stolen, and due to the vigilance of Deputy Brandon Oliver and Investigator Rob Bowker. This is another example of how our patrol division works well with our investigative division to get the job done.”
Caulk said the sheriff’s office will continue to work hard to crack down on burglaries and thefts.
“I would like to make another reminder to the public to report suspicious behavior to us or if you see something out of the ordinary, to call us,” Caulk said. “Our officers can’t be everywhere, so we rely on tips from the public to help us do our jobs effectively. Even though cases aren’t solved in one hour like they are on television, our office works hard to get resolution to cases. This particular case involved 40 hours of time after everything is said and done.”
If anyone has any more information on this case, they should call the sheriff’s office at 763-689-2141 or the 24-hour tip line at 763-691-2426. Caulk advises if anyone from the public sees suspicious or criminal activity happening to immediately call 911.
According to the criminal complaint:
On Nov. 15, at 2:05 p.m., Deputy Doug Barron was dispatched to standby at Summit Secure Storage, 1442 277th Lane NE, Isanti, as a female was removing some of her personal belongings from a storage unit leased by Southworth.
The female reported she had unloaded much of her property into her vehicle when she and Southworth began to argue over the telephone. That is when she decided to call dispatch and have an officer present to remove the remaining items.
Barron stood by while the female and one male began to load items into a truck. The female indicated to Barron that she felt a lot of the items in the storage unit were likely stolen as the property is expensive, and Southworth does not have a job. While the female was looking for her belongings in the storage unit, she opened a green ammo tin that contained ammunition. Barron noticed distinctive orange tags on the ammunition and recognized the ammunition as having been stolen in a recent residential burglary.
Barron contacted Bowker who contacted the victim of that burglary. The victim confirmed the stolen ammunition had orange stickers with a respective number written on the stickers. This number matched the boxes that Barron had located. Bowker advised no one should be allowed inside of the unit anymore, and he would obtain a search warrant for the storage unit.
A few minutes later an SUV arrived and Southworth exited from the passenger side of the vehicle. Southworth was advised he was not allowed in the storage unit as some stolen ammunition was located. Southworth was then placed under arrest for possession of stolen property, and during a search incident to arrest, Barron located a glass bubble pipe in Southworth’s pocket that contained residue that tested positive for methamphetamine.
Southworth was transported to the Isanti County Sheriff’s Office, where Bowker was drafting a search warrant. Southworth told Bowker, “You’re going to find a ton of stolen (items) in there.” Thereafter, Southworth requested to speak with an attorney.
Bowker obtained a search warrant for the storage unit, and Bowker and other officers returned to the storage unit.
During the search, Bowker recovered a Hitachi air compressor, and several tool boxes with a specific name written on them. Additionally, a DeWalt heater and several buckets of Hitachi tools were recovered. This property is valued in excess of $1,600. These items were confirmed as stolen from a construction trailer in Isanti Township between Oct. 5-6.
During the search, Bowker recovered a green ammunition case containing boxes of ammunition. Also recovered were a Remington 700 bolt action .30-06 rifle with Nikon scope valued at $1,800, and a 12-gauge Browning shotgun valued at $2,000, and tan zippered duffle bags. These items were confirmed as stolen from a residential burglary in Cambridge Oct. 6. During the search, Bowker recovered a Marlin lever action .30-30 rifle with a Simmons scope valued at $760 and a Ruger 10-22 rifle with a Nikon Pro Staff scope valued at $840. These items were confirmed as stolen in a residential burglary in Bradford Township Sept. 29.
During the search, Bowker recovered a blue Clam fish house, a green tub containing an ice auger and fishing equipment and two fishing rods. The value of this property is in excess of $1,325. These items were confirmed as stolen from a motor vehicle parked at Lake Fannie Oct. 4.