Staff Report

Jack Reice Byrer

WARSAW — A Warsaw man was arrested after allegedly breaking into seven storage units.

Jack Reice Byrer, 30, 1177 S. 400W, Warsaw, is charged with burglary, a level 5 felony; possession of methamphetamine, a level 6 felony; criminal trespass and two counts of theft, all class A misdemeanors; three counts of criminal mischief and possession of marijuana, all class B misdemeanors; and possession of paraphernalia, a class C misdemeanor.

On July 10, Warsaw Police officers went to the U-Store It Warehouse on East Winona Avenue regarding a potential theft in progress. Upon arrival at the scene, officers found a bicycle with three bags laying next to it. The bags were near storage units that appeared to have been forced open.

According to court documents, officers walked through the storage units and found a man rummaging through items in a storage unit that had its door pulled off its hinges. The man, later identified as Byrer, claimed the storage unit belonged to him. One of the officers knew from prior, unrelated incidents that Byrer was known to break into storage units.

While being taken into custody, Byrer admitted to breaking into storage units at the facility but claimed he only broke into two of them. He consented to his bicycle and the three bags being searched.

In a backpack that Byrer said belonged to him, officers found a smoking device, a vape cartridge that appeared to contain THC, a crowbar, a pair of pliers, and a set of bolt cutters. The other bags next to the bicycle appeared to contain items that were stolen from the storage units.

Officers noticed that seven storage units at the facility had been opened or tampered with. A manager at U-Store It said she had checked all the units on July 8, and that every unit had a lock on it at that time. A visible trespass warning sign was also near the units that Byrer had allegedly made entry into.

While searching Byrer, officers found drug paraphernalia, multiple plastic bags containing methamphetamine residue, and a plastic bag containing marijuana.

Officers then attempted to contact the owners of the storage units that were tampered with or had items stolen from them. One owner said he was unaware if anything was missing from his unit, as his daughter uses the unit for storage.

A second storage unit owner said her unit had a broken latch and was separated from its door hinge. She said glass bottles valued at $30 were missing from her unit. She also said other items were left in her unit that did not belong to her, and she gave those items to the U-Store It manager.

The manager told officers she spoke with one of the storage unit’s owners, who said a binder of baseball cards, NASCAR memorabilia, and a blue duffel bag were stolen from his unit. These items were found next to Byrer’s bicycle and were returned to their owner.

Officers attempted to speak with the other four storage unit owners, but as of July 26, officers did not have information from them regarding any loss from their storage units.

Byrer has already been arrested and released on bond. He has an initial hearing at 1 p.m. Aug. 11, in Kosciusko Superior Court Three.