Tie Siding Man Faces Five Felony Charges
The defendant charged with five felonies in connection with numerous criminal complaints including break-ins at the fireworks stand on US 287 has been bound over to District Court for trial.
Tie Siding resident Jon Barton, 31, is charged with four counts of burglary and one count of theft. If convicted, he could face up to 50 years in prison and fines totaling $50,000.
Albany County Sheriff’s deputies recovered about $20,000 of stolen property at Barton's residence during the execution of a search warrant in November.
Deputies began to investigate two burglary complaints on Nov. 23. The first complaint was filed on Oct. 11, and the second complaint was filed on Nov. 17. Both were in regard to alleged burglaries at the fireworks stand on Highway 287.
During the investigation Nov. 23, an anonymous tip reported through Crime Stoppers told police that Barton was breaking into storage units, siphoning gas from vehicles, stealing fireworks, and attempting to sell those fireworks.
Court documents say Albany County Sheriff’s deputies traveled to Barton’s “remote cabin” near Tie Siding on Nov. 23 to execute a search warrant.
The deputies recovered about $20,000 worth of reportedly stolen property, including the fireworks, and found various items that appeared to be related to other reported thefts.
Court documents say that Detective Sergeant Robert Terry of the Laramie Police Department assisted deputies in executing an amended search warrant the next day. They recovered two electronic items valued at $32,000 used for cellular tower maintenance that were located at Barton’s residence and had been reported stolen to the LPD.
Barton allegedly admitted to taking the equipment during a Nov. 24 interview with deputies at the Adams County Detention Center in Colorado, where he was being held on other charges.
According to the affidavit, Barton also told deputies that he drilled out the locks on five or six storage units at Laramie’s B & H Secure Self Storage as well as a storage unit at the Antelope Meadows Storage Facility and had taken items including golf clubs, tools, and furniture. Barton told officers that he had pawned some of the items, while others were at his house and even more were in the back of his truck.
Barton is currently being held in the Albany County Detention Center on $10,000 cash bond. An arraignment date has not been set.