Man police say broke into an auto parts store and attempted to steal items faces four felonies
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POCATELLO — A local man has been charged with multiple felonies after being linked to a burglary at a Pocatello auto parts store.
Phillip Rudd Carter, Jr., 60, faces charges of possession of methamphetamine, concealment of evidence and two counts of burglary, court records show.
Bannock County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call reporting a theft at an auto parts store on the 9500 block of Philbin Road around 8:45 a.m. on Jan. 12, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
When deputies arrived at the store, a store employee allowed the officer to watch a surveillance video of the theft. The video from just after 4:15 p.m. the day prior showed two men enter the store and sign in on a clipboard, the affidavit says. However, the names were illegible.
One of the men was described as having long white hair, a white mustache and white goatee and was later identified as Carter. The other was a younger man in a black jacket with the hood pulled over his head, blue jeans and dark-colored shoes.
The employee told the deputies that the two men signed in, went into the yard to search for parts, returned to the lobby without any parts and left.
After leaving the store, the two men sat in a red early 2000s Ford F-150 with tinted windows and no front license plate until the store closed and the employee left around 5:30 p.m. The men then backed the truck up to a fence around the yard and removed a panel of the fence.
Once inside, Carter took a set of tires and bag of lug nuts and put them next to the truck. According to the affidavit, the store employee told the officers that the items were valued at $274.
Carter then took two car batteries, valued at $40 apiece.
The affidavit shows that the younger man never personally took any items from the store but did assist Carter in gaining access. The men left the store and area without ever loading the tires into the truck.
Deputies told the employee to call the sheriff’s office if it was discovered that other items were taken or if either of the men returned to the store.
An attempt to identify bulletin was sent to other local agencies. The following day, a deputy was informed through the bulletin that the older man in the video was Carter. After comparing the video footage with a prior booking photo of Carter, the deputy determined the images to be a match and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
Around 8 p.m. on Jan. 21, Pocatello police officers identified a man matching Carter’s description walking near the intersection of Yellowstone Avenue and Cedar Street.
Officers stopped Carter and informed him of the warrant. He was placed under arrest. During a pat-down search, officers found him to be in possession of a “tooter” straw. They also found a baggie of suspected methamphetamine on the ground near were officers stopped Carter.
Carter admitted to dropping the bag of meth and stepping on it in hopes of concealing it, according to the affidavit.
He was placed under arrest and taken to Bannock County Jail, where he was booked and is being held on two separate bonds of $25,000 for the burglary charges and $10,000 for the drug charges.
Though Carter has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
If he is found guilty, Carter could face up to 32 years in prison.
He is scheduled to appear in court before Magistrate Judge Eric Hunn for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 14.