Teens Face Felonies After Allegedly Stealing Cop Radio & Saying, "F**k The Police"

[Whisper]

Kody Thronson

Gillette allegedly slapped the stolen police handcuffs on a friend, leading to his arrest.

Charges linked to thefts from Fargo police cruiser; suspect reportedly taunts police on radio

ARGO – Charges have been filed against two men in connection with an April incident in which a bulletproof vest, handcuffs and other equipment were stolen from a Fargo police officer’s unmarked, unlocked police vehicle.

Kody Jerome Thronson of Dilworth was charged Tuesday in Cass County District Court with three counts of conspiracy to commit unlawful entry into a vehicle, a Class C felony.

Casey Jordan Gillette of Moorhead faces two counts of the same charge.

As a result of the incident, Officer Bret Witte received a letter of reprimand for leaving valuable items in a car and leaving the car unlocked, Fargo police spokesman Lt. Joel Vettel has said.

Vettel said the items stolen from Witte’s car on the night of April 10-11 included the vest and handcuffs, a Taser, a knife, a handheld police radio and two loaded ammunition clips for a handgun.

As previously reported in The Forum, one pair of handcuffs was recovered the next day in Moorhead when a man called dispatchers to say he needed help getting out of them.

According to a police report filed with the charges Tuesday:

The man in the cuffs, Joseph Tolzmann, and another man, Derek Dahl, told Moorhead police that they were in Tolzmann’s vehicle the night before with Gillette and Thronson, and that the two men were “car hopping” and took the vest from Witte’s vehicle.

Tolzmann said that as they drove back into Moorhead, Thronson said into the digital police radio “(Expletive) the police,” according to the report, which notes the number came up through dispatch as Witte’s radio.

The radio was thrown out of the vehicle into the Red River as they crossed the bridge, Tolzmann said.

Tolzmann told police they went to his residence, where they played with the vest, posing and taking pictures with it.e vest and its contents were no longer in the residence when Moorhead police served a search warrant there on April 12.

Gillette was later arrest-ed for allegedly breaking into vehicles in a Fargo neighborhood where he was staying. In tape-recorded interviews with police, he denied being present when the vest was stolen, though he admitted to putting the cuffs on Tolzmann. He said it was Thronson who stole the vest, the report says.

During the investigation, Fargo Police Detective Paul Holte had Gillette place a phone call to Thronson. After they talked for a while, Holte got on the phone and talked to Thronson, telling him he was a drug mover from California who had $1,500 in cash and was interested in buying the vest.

Thronson told him he no longer had the vest and couldn’t get it anymore, the report says.

Gillette told police he believed the vest was taken out and burned in the Detroit Lakes, Minn., or Frazee, Minn., area, the report says.
The other conspiracy counts against Gillette and Thronson stem from the theft of a GPS device from one vehicle and a DVD player from another vehicle. Thronson is alleged to have acted alone in the latter incident.
[...]

http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/64996/

On the night of April 11, 19-year-old Dilworth resident Kody Thronson and 18-year-old Moorhead resident Casey Gillette were allegedly out breaking into cars in a Fargo neighborhood when they stumbled across a gold mine.

They came across an unlocked, unmarked police vehicle, replete with all sorts of goodies -- a bulletproof vest, handcuffs, a Taser, knife, handheld police radio, and loaded ammunition clips for a handgun.

The duo might have gotten away with the theft if Gillette hadn't acted on the bright idea to put the cuffs on a friend's wrists. On April 12, Joseph Tolzmann called police saying he needed help freeing himself from a pair of handcuffs, and officers soon figured out it was the set that had been stolen from the police vehicle. Tolzmann then ratted out Thronson and Gillette for taking the smorgasbord of gear from officer Bret Witte's car the night before.

Tolzmann told police he was riding in a car with Thronson and Gillette shortly after they stole all the stuff from Witte's car. As they drove around Moorhead, Thronson got on the police radio and said, "Fuck the police." The number from which the N.W.A. tribute was issued appeared to dispatch as Witte's. Tolzmann told police that the radio was tossed into the Red River as the car crossed a bridge.

Their cruise complete, the young men retired to Tolzmann's home, where they played with the bulletproof vest, posing and taking pictures with it, Tolzmann said. But all the gear Thronson and Gillette allegedly stole was gone by the team police searched the home on April 12.

In the wake of the incident, the Fargo PD spokesman, referring to the stolen items, said: "Those things we just don't take lightly and we're going to get those things back or do everything we can to get them back and the chief certainly is not happy about these circumstances." Indeed, the criminal complaint against Thronson and Gillette indicates police took pretty drastic measures in hopes of reclaiming Witte's gear.

http://citypages.com/blotter/2012/06...the_police.php

[LoKi4778]

"Private Pyle, if there is one thing in this world that I hate, it is an unlocked footlocker, you know that, don't you?" If it wasn't for dickheads like you, there wouldn't be any thievery in this world, would there?

[Darsa]

As previously reported in The Forum, one pair of handcuffs was recovered the next day in Moorhead when a man called dispatchers to say he needed help getting out of them.

AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!

[HeatherHabilatory]

I've always said, you have to make your own fun in ND.