Man accused of multiple Home Depot thefts reaches plea agreement
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POCATELLO — A local man charged with felony burglary for returning items he had not purchased has reached a plea deal with the Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office.
The prosecution will recommend probation for 62-year-old Michael Wayne Roden, according to court documents. Also, as part of the agreement, charges will not be filed for the 27 additional potential charges of burglary.
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Roden was arrested in June after members of the Home Depot loss-prevention team contacted the Chubbuck Police Department. While at the store interviewing employees and reviewing evidence of what Home Depot determined to be 28 total instances in which Roden returned items he had not bought, Roden was identified in the store.
Officers pulled him over in the parking lot as he was leaving and found a binder containing other people’s receipts from the store.
According to police reports, surveillance footage provided by Home Depot showed Roden entering the store without merchandise on 28 occasions between June 2020 and June 2021. He then walked through the store, selected items off the shelf and took them to the returns desk, presenting a receipt for the items and receiving a refund.
After his first court appearance, Roden was determined unfit for trial and was remanded to the custody of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare for evaluation on July 21.
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Court documents show that Roden returned to court for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 27.
The court was informed on Nov. 2 that Roden and the prosecution had reached an agreement. Per the agreement, the prosecution will recommend probation and not pursue charges for the other 27 alleged instances of burglary. In exchange, Roden will enter a guilty plea to the single charge of burglary and pay $4,248.72 in restitution to Home Depot.
A change-of-plea hearing has not yet been scheduled.