Man tied to job site theft reaches plea deal
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POCATELLO — One of the men tied to a July job site burglary has reached a plea deal that requires him to pay back half of the nearly $15,000 restitution.
Marcus Lee Steed, 36, reached a plea agreement with the Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office on March 9, according to court documents. As part of the agreement, he will plead guilty to one felony count of grand theft.
In exchange, a second felony grand theft charge as well as a felony burglary charge will not be filed.
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In the written agreement, the prosecuting attorney agrees to concur with a sentence recommendation from a pre-sentence investigation and will recommend Steed receive no more than a rider.
The agreement also states that any probation applied to Steed by the court will not be lifted until his portion of the restitution is paid in full. That restitution amount has been determined to be $14,088, which Steed and another man who pleaded guilty to the theft, 30-year-old Travis James Schmidt, will pay jointly.
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A third man who had been arrested and charged in connection to the theft, 31-year-old Stephen Lee Plant, saw his charges related to the theft dismissed in November. A felony charge for possessing of a controlled substance at the time of his arrest remain on his record.
Steed and Schmidt were arrested days after a theft was reported at a job site near Pocatello High School following Independence Day weekend.
According to police reports, at least three men entered a construction site and took numerous tools and pieces of equipment from the site.
Schmidt was tied to the theft after he pawned one of the stolen tools at a local pawn shop.
Police arrested Steed in connection to the theft following investigation.
Schmidt received seven years of probation, which police said he violated in January when they found him with a controlled substance. He is scheduled to appear before a jury on April 19.
Steed entered a guilty plea on March 21, according to court records. He’s scheduled to be sentenced by 6th District Judge Javier Gabiola on May 23.