POLSON — A 23-year-old St. Ignatius man was sentenced to five years in prison for burglary in Lake County District Court last Wednesday after he was caught trying to sell stolen items from a furniture shop to a pawn shop just two days after the theft occurred.

Matthew Michel will serve prison time for stealing in excess of $1,000 worth of property from a Lake County business after the Jolly Pack Rat contacted law enforcement when they thought the items Michel was trying to sell to them were stolen.

In June 6, 2009, Albert Custom Cabinets in Pablo reported to the Lake County Sheriff’s office that their shop had been broken into the previous night. All the windows and doors on the south side of the business were slightly ajar and the Lake County deputy observed a foot print and tire tracks nearby. The shop’s owner said that several tools, two computers, some DVDs, two guitars and some money was missing and totaled over $1,000.

Two days later, the Lake County Sheriff’s office got a call from the Jolly Pack Rat after someone had tried to sell them a bag full of power tools that had matched the description of the tools stolen from Albert Custom Cabinets. The employee told the person in question to leave the tools and come back later to talk to the manager about selling them.

Two deputies responded and, after arriving at the Jolly Pack Rat, determined that the tools were the ones stolen from Albert Custom Cabinets. The deputies then waited for the person who tried to sell the tools to return, but after it appeared he wouldn’t be back, decided to leave. While leaving, they observed a man matching the description of the person selling the stolen tools enter the Jolly Pack Rat.

The deputies identified him as Matthew Michel and he confirmed that he had dropped the bag full of tools off at the Jolly Pack Rat. After first telling deputies he had received them from an unknown person in Pablo, he later admitted after further inquiry that he broke into Albert Custom Cabinets and stole the tools.

The maximum sentence for burglary is 20 years and a $50,000 fine.