Suspects may be linked to series of burglaries, thefts
The Daily Inter Lake
Detectives believe two men arrested after allegedly breaking into the home of a Missoula police officer are connected with a long string of burglaries and thefts in Lake County.
Charges against 20-year-old Cote Remi Wheeler of Ronan and 19-year-old Jonathon Cody Morton of Polson are pending, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Wheeler and Morton were taken into custody after Lake County investigators notified Missoula County authorities on Jan. 15 that the men's pickup truck was exhibiting a suspicious pattern of behavior - possibly casing or breaking into homes - in a rural Missoula County neighborhood.
Detectives with the Lake County Sheriff's Office and Polson Police Department had begun monitoring the vehicle with GPS technology after a Colorado-based company allowed investigators to demonstrate the device for use in tracking.
The device, installed after investigators received a District Court search warrant authorizing its use, allows "officers to perform surveillance on a subject without dedicating the extensive time and resources common to the more traditional methods of following a subject," according to Lake County Sheriff Lucky Larson.
Missoula County deputies found Wheeler and Morton in the truck with two loaded handguns, jewelry and two knives. Similar items had been taken from the Missoula police officer's home after the door had been kicked in, court records say.
Interviews with Wheeler and Morton after their arrests provided detectives with substantial details in a number of other ongoing Lake County burglary investigations, according to Larson.
Detectives searched several homes in Polson and a home in Woods Bay, recovering numerous items reported missing in the burglaries. Four men and a woman were questioned and released in connection with the searches. A fifth man was questioned and jailed on an unrelated outstanding arrest warrant.
Anyone with additional information about the case is encouraged to call Lt. Mike Sargeant at (406) 883-7278 or Detective Michael Gehl at (406) 883-7282.