An SUV’s unforeseen breakdown led to the arrest Monday afternoon of two people on charges of burglary at a vacant farm house west of Perry.
Jeffery Michael Heater, 37, of 103 W. Third St., Bagley, was arrested on charges of third-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools and on warrants for two counts of third-degree burglary-motor vehicle, two counts of third-degree theft and operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent.
Danielle Marguerita Miles, 32, of 117 N.E. Belaire Road, Ankeny, was arrested on a charge of third-degree burglary.
The incident began about 2:15 p.m. Monday, when a Dallas County Deputy Sheriff responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle in the 15000 block of H Avenue west of Perry.
According to court records, the responding deputy encountered Heater and Miles “walking down the road near a vacant residence at 15309 H Ave.,” and a “Volvo SUV with no license plates was parked on the road in front of the residence.”
Heater told the deputy he was in possession of the broken-down Volvo.
Investigation at the vacant residence disclosed that a padlock had been cut on one of the buildings. According to court records, a pair of bolt cutters and the cut padlock — later identified by the property owner — were allegedly found in a backpack Heater was carrying.
Both Heater and Miles allegedly admitted during the course of the investigation that they had been inside the broken-into building.
Inside the Volvo the deputy allegedly found an “antique Johnson boat motor, several antique electrical glass insulators, a box of antique glass and silverware, metal files and a knife,” all of which were “identified by the owner of the property as being stolen out of the building.”
Heater is held in the Dallas County Jail on a $17,000 cash or surety bond. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing June 26 in Dallas County District Court.
Miles was held in the Dallas County Jail prior to posting a $2,000 cash or surety bond. She is scheduled for a preliminary hearing June 26 in Dallas County District Court.
Jeffery Michael Heater, 37, of 908 Greene St., Adel, was arrested May 31 on a Dallas County warrant for probation violation on an original charge of burglary.
Miles was convicted of fifth-degree theft in 2017 in Polk County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
