Teen charged after alleged break-in

Published 6:46 pm Tuesday, September 20, 2011

A 19-year-old Austin man was charged with first-degree burglary Tuesday after allegedly breaking into someone’s apartment and thinking it was his own.

Matthew Allen Smith was charged with one count of burglary in Mower County District Court. He is scheduled to enter a plea Sept. 29.

According to a court complaint, the residents of an apartment in the 1300 block of Fourth St. SE woke up around 7 a.m. Sunday morning to find Smith standing in the apartment. Smith appeared “extremely intoxicated,” according to the complaint, and said he had been dropped off there and thought he was going home.

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Smith left when one of the residents asked him to, but he was later found passed out in the Viking Glass and Lock storage units parking lot.

One of the apartment residents told police he was missing $260 from his wallet after Smith left.

When police questioned Smith, he reportedly became belligerent. The court complaint said Smith told police he was “already looking at eight years and was tired of running and just wanted to get his time over with.” Smith told police he didn’t remember taking any money or entering the apartment.