Preliminary hearings are scheduled for May 14 and 24 for two Elkhorn men charged with burglarizing a Town of Troy home with friends last summer.
Tyler L. Michael, 18, and Douglas A. Martin, 22, were charged March 25 in Walworth County Circuit Court with burglary of a building or dwelling and theft of movable property, both as a party to a crime.
According to the criminal complaint:
Michael and Martin are among four friends who allegedly went to a Town of Troy home with Joshua A. Osborne, 21, of East Troy, between June and September and took property valued at more than $2,500. Osborne is scheduled to go to trial May 6 on charges of burglary and theft.
Osborne allegedly went to the home six or seven times last summer with friends, including Michael. The property owner Sept. 13 reported items missing from her home where she no longer lives including a chainsaw, a leaf blower, a weed trimmer, about 50 movies, jewelry, milk cans, a 24-inch computer, a 19-inch flat screen TV and a 1940s wringer washer. Missing from the property were a 1957 International truck, a 1940s gas pump and a 1972 Honda motorcycle.
A witness said about four weeks prior he saw people with a truck, trailer and skid loader on the woman’s property pulling the truck out of the woods and onto the trailer. The witness said he knew the woman no longer lived at the house and thought she must have sold the truck.
Martin told police Sept. 25 that he was involved in going into the victim’s house with Osborne on six or seven occasions. He admitted he went inside the home on each of those occasions and went with Osborne to sell the items and received $200 to $300.
Michael admitted going to the home with Osborne twice. The first time, he said he heard someone outside on a tractor tell Osborne the house was abandoned and Osborne could have what he wanted from the home. Michael said he became suspicious when he saw food inside the house and thought someone might live there.
Osborne said he took the items to jewelry stores, pawn shops and scrap yards in Walworth County and sold them.
