Stolen underwear, a cat-napping and pepper spray: Rigby man charged in 2 burglaries in 2 cities
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IDAHO FALLS — A punching bag, underwear and a pet cat are among the things allegedly stolen by a Rigby man accused in the burglary of an Idaho Falls house in February.
A month later, police say he broke into a Rigby home and pepper-sprayed a woman.
Chance Joseph Wood, 27, is facing two felony charges of burglary and grand theft and misdemeanor malicious injury to property in Bonneville County. In Jefferson County, he is facing felony burglary and aggravated battery charges.
Idaho Falls burglary
According to court documents, a woman called Idaho Falls police on Feb. 16 to report a burglary that she said occurred at 10:30 a.m. The woman told officers that she suspected the person involved was Wood, as he had been staying at the residence on and off since January.
Two days before the Feb. 16 incident, the woman said Wood had brought in a “sex swing,” and she told him she was not interested in any relationship with him.
She said Wood left, and some time later, the woman left the residence, as well.
Upon her return, she said she noticed the window in her kitchen was open, and the vase next to it was on the floor. She also discovered that the internet at the residence had been turned off, rendering the home’s cameras unavailable.
Charges say a search for what had been taken revealed that over $1,000 in items were missing. The list of items includes a punching bag, shampoo, a phone and a bunch of the woman’s underwear.
The woman also found her cat was missing, according to charges.
The next day, the woman spoke with an officer at the Idaho Falls Police Complex, where she showed text messages between her and Wood, in which she asked him to return the cat.
The charges say Wood texted her back videos of the cat and said he would only agree to return the animal if she spoke with him in person.
After multiple unsuccessful attempts to contact Wood, a warrant for issued for his arrest.
Rigby burglary
On March 6, at 3 p.m., a deputy with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home in Rigby on the report of a burglary.
The woman who reported the burglary said an intruder had sprayed her in the face with something, and she fired a gun into the ceiling.
When he arrived at the home, the deputy said the woman appeared to be in pain and showed signs of having been sprayed with pepper spray.
The charges say the woman reported she was working on the home and decided to lie down in the master bedroom. She said she was awakened by her dog’s barking and heard the back door break open, and a man wearing a grey hoodie and a respirator entered.
The woman said she recognized the man as Wood because of the hoodie, which she said he always wears.
Wood allegedly ran toward the woman, and she tried to close the bedroom door but was unsuccessful. Wood managed to get through the door and spray her with pepper spray, the charges say.
The woman told police she then fled into the bathroom, grabbed a gun and fired off a shot into the ceiling.
The woman said she also believed the intruder was Wood because he had talked about doing a home invasion where he’d use pepper spray.
Wood is scheduled to appear in Jefferson County for a preliminary hearing at 1:30 p.m. on April 2 before Magistrate Judge Stephen Clark.
In Bonneville County, he has a preliminary hearing on April 14 at 1 p.m. before Magistrate Judge Michael Kirkham.
Though Wood has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.