Idaho Falls man accused of stealing building materials and selling them as scrap
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IDAHO FALLS — An Idaho Falls man who allegedly stole approximately $8,500 worth of building materials and sold them as scrap was arrested Monday.
Kanna Leeon Pace, 32, has been charged with one count of grand theft by possession of stolen property, a felony, and one misdemeanor trespassing charge.
Court documents say on Oct. 1, an employee of a local auto parts and fabrication shop contacted the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office to report a theft. According to the employee, at around 10 a.m. on Oct. 1, another employee had noticed that aluminum crossbars were missing from outside the building.
Employees reportedly reviewed security footage from the night of Sept. 29, which showed an individual in a white pickup truck drive up to the building and load up the aluminum.
According to court documents, an employee of the auto shop contacted a local scrap metal business, with whom they reportedly had a working relationship, and the scrap metal business reported that they had purchased the allegedly stolen goods without knowing they were stolen. The scrap metal business agreed to hold the allegedly stolen goods.
On Oct. 2, law enforcement reportedly reviewed the security footage from outside the auto shop and spoke with employees. The auto shop inventory specialist told law enforcement that $8,500 worth of aluminum was missing, according to court documents.
The affidavit states deputies and the reporting party went to the scrap metal business together, and employees were allegedly able to identify the suspect seen in security footage as Pace.
Employees of the scrap metal business told officers that Pace was a regular customer, and employees had allegedly seen him come in to sell aluminum on the morning of Sept. 30. Transaction records kept by the business confirmed that on Sept. 30, Pace had allegedly sold the business 401 pounds of aluminum for $714.
Later in the day, after deputies had left the scrap metal business, employees contacted law enforcement to report Pace had allegedly come into the business again to sell more scrap metal.
A warrant for Pace’s arrest was issued Oct. 8 and was served Oct. 19.
If found guilty of the charges against him, Pace may face up to 14 1/2 years in prison and may be required to pay fines of up to $6,000.
Pace has been appointed a public defender. The Idaho State Public Defender’s Office does not comment on active investigations.
He is expected to appear in court next Oct. 28 for a preliminary hearing.
Although Pace has been charged with these crimes, that does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.