WILLMAR -- A Sunburg teenager was sentenced Friday to 90 days in Prairie Lakes Youth Programs and probation until his 19th birthday for three burglaries in Benson and New London and for passing stolen checks at a New London business.
Steven Jon Lynn Horton, 18, was also ordered to pay $9,438 in restitution, get his general education diploma, obtain employment and commit no crimes. The juvenile sentence, on felony charges of third-degree burglary and receiving stolen property and a gross misdemeanor for check forgery, was handed down in Kandiyohi County District Court.
As part of a plea agreement, six additional felony charges against Horton were dismissed. The charges stemmed from a Feb. 3 break-in at a Norway Lake bait shop, a Nov. 15 burglary of a rural New London home, and for passing a stolen, forged check on Nov. 29 at Pete's Surplus Store in rural New London. The receiving stolen property charge stemmed from a case transferred from Swift County. Horton pleaded guilty to that charge, which stemmed from a Jan. 19 burglary of Darold's Super Valu in Benson.
Felony matters against 16- and 17-year-olds are public record.
The home burglary charges were filed after the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office was called to a New London home by the homeowner, who said his child came home to find furniture moved and electronic items missing. The missing items totaled $1,845 in value. Through interviews with several sources, deputies learned that some of the equipment had been sold at a Willmar gaming store and to a Willmar woman. Horton was interviewed by a detective and initially claimed he did not have any role in the burglary. He later said he acted as a lookout for another New London resident, 18-year-old Tyler Dean Ryks, who will be sentenced Thursday on a felony charge of receiving stolen property in the case.
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The business burglary charges were filed after sheriff's deputies were called Feb. 3 to the Last Chance Bait Shop in rural New London. The owners showed the deputies pried open windows and footprints in the snow. A total of 490 packs of cigarettes, valued at $1,914, were missing from the store. A few days later, the owners contacted the Sheriff's Office again. They had received information from a person who purchased cigarettes from a juvenile female known to law enforcement. A detective interviewed a number of teens, including Horton, who said the group was at Horton's home and talked of burglarizing a business, which some members of the group did in the middle of the night. Horton said others broke into the bait shop and took the cigarettes. He returned with the group to pick up a lost cell phone, dropped during the crime. He admitted to receiving some of the stolen cigarettes and helping the girl sell them.
The owners of the bait shop later informed law enforcement that the bait tanks had been damaged during the burglary as the teens walked over them. The product to repair the tanks was no longer made, and the entire system would need to be replaced. The total cost of damages to the bait system, the building and for stolen merchandise was $10,483.53.
The forgery charge was filed after the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office received a report from the Benson Police Department on Dec. 13 that two forged checks had been written to Pete's Surplus Store from a Benson woman's closed bank account. The checks, for $130 and $120, were written Nov. 29 and Dec. 2. The woman went to the store, talked to the owner and learned that the store attendant who cashed the checks knew Horton was the person passing them. When interviewed, Horton admitted he knew about the checks, but said another juvenile had offered them.
The Swift County burglary charge was filed after Benson police were called Jan. 19 to the Super Valu store. A safe, and the $3,400 in cash and coin it contained, was missing. The police received information from a confidential informant the next day that Horton and three others had planned the burglary and stolen the safe. Search warrants were served and officers found concrete chunks and vehicle pieces that matched debris found with the safe.
When interviewed, Horton said the others burglarized the store, and that he allowed them to use his shop and tools to open the safe at his home. He admitted to knowing what they were doing, but said he wasn't involved.
