Carson City man accused of vehicle burglary, attempting to sell tools on social media
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Wed, 11/08/2023 - 5:28pm
A 27-year-old man was arrested Tuesday for suspicion of three counts vehicle burglary and possession of stolen property, according to a Carson City Sheriff's Office booking report.
Kyle Lesher of Carson City was taken into custody following an investigation into the vehicle and utility trailer burglaries, where the suspect is alleged to have attempted to sell stolen items on social media.
According to the booking report, sheriff's office deputies and detectives investigated three vehicle burglaries that happened between Oct. 31 and Nov. 3. The burglaries involved work trucks and utility trailers and tools such as drills, grinders, saws, nail guns and air compressors, which were taken from each burglary.
The first burglary happened on Oct. 31, in the 2600 block of Sycamore Glen Drive, and involved a Dodge work truck and utility trailer that were broken into with approximately $3,000 in tools taken.
On Nov. 1, a burglary was reported in the 3500 block of Woodside Drive in Carson City. A utility trailer was broken into and approximately $10,000 in tools were taken.
In the third burglary, reported Nov. 3 in the 2400 block of Manhattan Drive, a utility trailer was broken into with approximately $10,000 in tools taken.
The victims from one of the three burglaries notified a deputy that they had found some of their tools for sale on a social media marketplace site. They identified several of the tools as belonging to them. The victims then began to communicate via the social media messenger with the suspect, Kyle Lesher, to purchase the tools in Carson City, the report states.
CCSO Investigations Division was notified of the burglaries and the suspect, Kyle Lesher, and began investigating. Detectives observed several of the Milwaukee tools Lesher had online that had matched with what the victim from one of the burglaries had described, the report states.
The victims arranged to purchase the tools from the suspect on Tuesday, Nov 7. Detectives followed the suspect and his girlfriend to their vehicle on Elaine Street to a grocery store parking lot in the 3600 block of North Carson Street. The man and his girlfriend parked near a detective's unmarked vehicle whom they thought was going to purchase the tools, according to the report.
Detectives surrounded the vehicle where the suspect and his girlfriend were removed and detained. Deputies read the man his Miranda rights warning and he agreed to speak. He stated he was there to sell tools that he had previously purchased online. He stated the tools were in a suitcase in their vehicle.
He gave deputies consent to open the suitcase, where numerous power tools were located. The victims of the burglaries arrived and identified several of the tools belonging to them. The serial numbers on the tools had been ground off, the report states. The identified stolen tools were photographed, inventoried and released back to the victims.
The suspect's girlfriend was found not to be involved in the burglaries and was released. The girlfriend stated she had no knowledge the tools her boyfriend was selling were stolen. She stated that when detectives surrounded her car, the suspect told her he had stolen the tools.
Lesher admitted he had stolen tools during vehicle burglaries in Carson City. He was arrested and taken to the investigations division for an interview.
During the interview he admitted to the three listed burglaries. He stated he had sold a large amount of the stolen tools on the social media marketplace site or to random people he met on the streets. He admitted he had been lying about what he did with the tools. He also requested an attorney. The interview was ended and he was booked for three counts burglary and one count possession of stolen property.
The investigation is ongoing. Bail: $20,000.
— All information for the crime log (unless otherwise noted) comes from the arrest reports supplied by the Carson City Sheriff's Office, and is considered by law to be public information. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The policy of Carson Now is to name anyone who is arrested for a felony offense.
