Two charged in tool thefts from Menards

A second man has been charged in connection with retail thefts police say occurred in December at Menards in Burlington.

Ben. R. Pearce, 32, of Oak Dale Court in Burlington, is charged as a party to a crime with felony retail theft and misdemeanor theft.

His alleged partner in crime, Timothy L. Nofrey, of Twin Lakes, faces the same charges with enhanced sentencing as a repeat offender.

Pearce was taken into custody on a warrant May 11, when he made his initial appearance in Racine County Circuit Court. He is next due in court May 27 for a preliminary hearing.

Nofrey was arraigned in court April 1, when a not-guilty plea was entered for him. Online records last show Nofrey scheduled in court for a plea hearing April 27.

According to the criminal complaint:

On Dec. 12, 2014, Nofrey and Pearce parked in the lot behind the Menards lumber yard and entered the store.

They selected two nail guns valued at $395 apiece, concealing them on some back shelving units in the store, the complaint contends.

Nofrey purchased a cabinet and then concealed the nail guns in it; he exited the store, removed the nail guns from the cabinet and concealed them in the car parked outside; he and Pearce then brought back the cabinet into Menards, explaining it was “too big to take at this time,” according to the complaint.

Five days later, Menards personnel spotted the same vehicle again parked in the same area of the back lot near the lumber yard, according to the complaint.

The store’s assistant manager told police that he observed Pearce conceal a shopping basket filled with numerous items on a back shelving unit Dec. 17, the complaint contends.

A Burlington officer responded to the scene and reported he observed Nofrey strap cabinets onto a car trailer and then drive the vehicle through the parking lot to a different entry, where the store manager observed Nofrey re-enter the store and remove the items hidden by Pearce, load the items into the car and leave without paying, according to the complaint.

A city officer stopped the vehicle once it passed the last point of purchase. The items allegedly taken without paying Dec. 17 total $172, according to the complaint.

A city investigator reported the two nail guns taken Dec. 12 were pawned, one in Salem and the other at a shop in Waukegan, according to the complaint.