MONROE - An Illinois couple face charges in Green County related to the burglary of over $27,000 worth of cellphones from a New Glarus store this summer, one of several such burglaries in the area.
Mike Laron Ewing, 21, Bristol, and Daesha Tanae Rayford, 19, Plano, are charged with a Class F felony count of burglary, a Class G felony count of theft and a Class A misdemeanor count of criminal damage to property.
Ewing and Rayford are charged "as a party to a crime." Police are still investigating the burglary and other possible suspects.
Ewing is also charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, both misdemeanors.
The charges stem from arrests made following an early-morning burglary of Five Star Cellular in New Glarus on June 15, according to the criminal complaints.
Surveillance video shows three suspects with covered faces wearing headlamps used a crowbar to break into the store and took 36 phones with a combined value of $27,555.
Police apprehended Rayford and Ewing nearby. The couple gave conflicting stories of why they were in the area.
A warrant is out for Ewing's arrest.
After signing a $20,000 signature bond in July, Rayford stood mute on the charges at her preliminary hearing. She has a pre-trial conference Nov. 7.
Burglaries of cellphone stores by thieves coming up from Illinois "seem to be pretty common" in the area, said District Attorney Craig Nolen.
Besides the Five Star Cellular burglary in New Glarus, at least six people are facing charges in connection to a February burglary at the Monroe Radio Shack. Three more are charged in connection to a September 2016 burglary at the U.S. Cellular store in Darlington.
Most of the defendants are from Aurora, Illinois.
A burglary carried out by three people at Fuzzy's Audio and Visual in Monroe last December remains under investigation, Nolen said. Police said they were looking for two men and a woman.
Despite having access to surveillance video footage, police face a challenge in investigating these cases because the suspects often cover their faces and even hands, according to Nolen.
Mike Laron Ewing, 21, Bristol, and Daesha Tanae Rayford, 19, Plano, are charged with a Class F felony count of burglary, a Class G felony count of theft and a Class A misdemeanor count of criminal damage to property.
Ewing and Rayford are charged "as a party to a crime." Police are still investigating the burglary and other possible suspects.
Ewing is also charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, both misdemeanors.
The charges stem from arrests made following an early-morning burglary of Five Star Cellular in New Glarus on June 15, according to the criminal complaints.
Surveillance video shows three suspects with covered faces wearing headlamps used a crowbar to break into the store and took 36 phones with a combined value of $27,555.
Police apprehended Rayford and Ewing nearby. The couple gave conflicting stories of why they were in the area.
A warrant is out for Ewing's arrest.
After signing a $20,000 signature bond in July, Rayford stood mute on the charges at her preliminary hearing. She has a pre-trial conference Nov. 7.
Burglaries of cellphone stores by thieves coming up from Illinois "seem to be pretty common" in the area, said District Attorney Craig Nolen.
Besides the Five Star Cellular burglary in New Glarus, at least six people are facing charges in connection to a February burglary at the Monroe Radio Shack. Three more are charged in connection to a September 2016 burglary at the U.S. Cellular store in Darlington.
Most of the defendants are from Aurora, Illinois.
A burglary carried out by three people at Fuzzy's Audio and Visual in Monroe last December remains under investigation, Nolen said. Police said they were looking for two men and a woman.
Despite having access to surveillance video footage, police face a challenge in investigating these cases because the suspects often cover their faces and even hands, according to Nolen.