An investigation across the state line led to the arrest of a Cresco, Iowa, 18-year-old man in a Le Roy burglary.

Anthony Joseph Shea, 18, pleaded not guilty to felony second-degree burglary-possession of tools, felony third-degree burglary, and felony aiding/abetting first-degree criminal damage to property.

According to the court report, Mower County deputies responded to a burglary call at Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota in Le Roy at 6:50 a.m. on April 13. The deputies observed damage to the building. It appeared the building was entered through a service door on the north side. Several offices inside the building had been burglarized and surveillance cameras had been pulled down and disconnected. The site’s director told deputies the surveillance system had not been operational for a few weeks.  More than $3,600 in damage had been done to the building.

Deputies observed another room had been broken into and a panel removed, which allowed access into the NAPA
Auto Parts next door. A NAPA employee told deputies a delivery had been made to the store the night before.

A deputy reviewed surveillance video from LeRoy-Ostrander High School and saw three suspects in a dark sedan.

The Howard County (Iowa) Sheriff’s Office had interviewed three suspects on April 18 about a burglary in its jurisdiction, a Mower County detective learned. A Howard County deputy said the suspects, Shea and two juvenile males, had confessed to the burglary in Le Roy and multiple area burglaries. A fourth suspect had taken his own life.

The detective interviewed the two juveniles on April 26 and 28. Both confessed to the burglary, stating they, along with the late suspect, had broken the glass of the back door to gain entry and had damaged property and stolen money and other items.

The detective was not able to make contact with Shea, but he reviewed Shea’s statement to the Howard County deputy. In it, Shea admitted he was involved in the burglary and damage at Lutheran Social Services on April 13.

Shea is scheduled to appear in court for a pre-trial on Dec. 29.