By Vicky Wedig
Staff Writer
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Jan. 30 for a Walworth man charged with stealing welding equipment from a Sharon business.
Matthew C. Burza, 24, was charged Jan. 19 in Walworth County Circuit Court with burglary of a building or dwelling and misdemeanor theft.
According to the criminal complaint, the owner of Complete Feeds in the Village of Sharon reported that someone had stolen a welding machine, welding helmets, a welding rod and a torch set from the business between Dec. 15 and Jan. 12. The owner, Jason Wojcik, said he saw the stolen property listed for sale on Craigslist by a seller listed as “Daniel,” according to the complaint. Wojcik said he suspected Burza might have stolen the equipment after being fired from the company in October.
Police found Burza had a Facebook friend listed as Daniel Kinney, who had been pulled over in a traffic stop in Walworth on Jan. 7, according to the complaint. Police viewed body camera footage of the traffic stop and saw images of a welding machine and a welder’s mask on the camera, according to the complaint.
The brother of a police office with extensive knowledge of welding arranged to meet the seller at Subway in Walworth on Jan. 13 where he obtained the stolen welding equipment, and Kinney and his girlfriend, Heyven Divinere, were arrested, according to the complaint.
Kinney said Burza had asked him to go to Burza’s former place of employment to pick up the welder and sell it online. Burza initially claimed he bought the welding unit but later admitted he stole it from Complete Feeds because he was upset about getting fired, according to the complaint.
