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One of burglar trio sentenced
Published 10:57am Thursday, March 21, 2013One of three people who allegedly spent a weekend last spring stealing various items around central Otter Tail County has been sentenced to jail time and probation.
Stephanie Rose Schmitt, 21, of Prior Lake, was sentenced Friday, March 15 in Otter Tail County District Court to 90 days in Otter Tail County Jail and 10 years supervised probation for felony second-degree burglary. She was also sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years supervised probation for one felony count of receiving stolen property, to be served concurrently.
According to the criminal complaint, the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office was alerted to a burglary in progress at an unoccupired Rush Lake Loop home shortly before 10 p.m. April 8, 2012, when a man near the residence heard a loud noise and observed people at the residence who appeared to be taking items and who were not the typical residents of the house. The burglars were allegedly loading some of the items onto a trailer. The man also reportedly called his father to tell him about the burglary.
By the time a deputy arrived at the scene, the alleged burglars had left in two different vehicles. However, they were spotted and followed by the initial reporter’s father, who kept them in sight on County Hwy. 78 until law enforcement arrived, the report says. The two vehicles were stopped in Ottertail City.
Matthew DIllon Heaton, of Sartell, was allegedly driving a car, and Chad Allen Kampa was driving a truck, with Schmitt as a passenger. In the vehicles, deputies reportedly found several items believed stolen from the Rush Lake Loop home and possibly another home in rural Henning, including a trolling motor, a silver platter, a tool box and more. The truck was also towing a trailer with a lawnmower believed to be from the Rush Lake home in it, although Kampa allegedly denied knowing how the lawn mower got there, according to the report.
The three appeared to have arrived in Otter Tail County late April 6 or early April 7, soon stealing a pickup truck from outside the Otter Supper Club and taking a trailer from elsewhere in Ottertail, the report says. On April 8, they allegedly committed both the Rush Lake burglary and another burglary in Henning, where law enforcement reported items worth about $10,000 were missing.
