Local man arrested for 3 counts of burglary, theft

A Bloomington man was arrested at about 11 a.m. Tuesday in connection with several local burglaries and thefts, Bloomington Police Detective Sgt. John Kovach said.

At about 3:55 a.m. Tuesday, officers with the BPD responded to a security alarm sounding at Tevac Inc., a local heating and air conditioning business located at 3905 S. Walnut St.

When police arrived, Kovach said they noticed a cut fence. When the owner of Tevac arrived to the business, Kovach said he could not identify to police anything missing. However, police did find a pair of bolt cutters, which Kovach said were likely used to cut the fence.

Later, Kovach said the Tevak owner reported a missing laptop. Kovach said a white man was seen on security camera footage climbing through the window of the business, walking around and then leaving the establishment.

A few hours later, at approximately 7:27 a.m., police responded to Neidigh Construction Inc. at 2220 W. Vernal Pike, where the owner reported the theft of an air conditioning unit and copper wiring from other air conditioning units.

Kovach said the owner also received an email from a resident who lives close to the business. In the email, the resident said they noticed a suspicious man outside the business in a gold Pontiac Grand Am.

When BPD officers Matt Gilmore and Amy Meyers heard the description of the gold Pontiac, Kovach said the two recalled two theft cases several months ago involving a vehicle with a similar description.

On Feb. 28 and April 9, the owner of Soft Touch Moving and Storage, located at 3150 S. Walnut St., reported to police the theft of several items inside the business, including sports memorabilia cards, jewelry and coins.

Officers visited a house at 2504 S. Rogers St. Tuesday morning, where the owner of the Pontiac, Michael R. Hepner, 24, was staying with his girlfriend.

The Pontiac was parked outside the house when the officers arrived, Kovach said. Sitting in plain sight in the back seat was an air conditioning unit, Kovach said.
When police ran the license plate on the vehicle, Kovach said they determined the license plate had also allegedly been stolen.

When police knocked on the door, Kovach said Hepner’s girlfriend answered the door, but officers could see Hepner in the house, allegedly still wearing the same clothes seen in the security camera footage.

Kovach said Hepner’s girlfriend then gave officers consent to search her apartment, where officers allegedly located the stolen laptop, sports cards, jewelry and coins. Kovach said police allegedly found several other items believed to be stolen from unknown locations, including a camera and several lenses and tools.

Hepner then gave police consent to search his Pontiac, Kovach said. Inside the car, Kovach said police located the air conditioning unit and an air conditioning coiling unit, allegedly stolen from Tevac. Police also located several pieces of steel allegedly taken from Neidigh, along with a brand new Apple TV, still in the box.

Kovach said Hepner was arrested and allegedly admitted to the burglary at Tevac and the two previous burglaries at Soft Touch Moving and Storage. Hepner faces three charges of burglary at Tevac and Soft Touch and three charges of theft for the stolen items at Neidigh.

— Mark Keierleber