Moorcroft man sentenced to prison for burglary

Dewey Schoenewald of Moorcroft has been sentenced to up to ten years in prison for a burglary charge that relates to multiple break-ins alleged to have taken place in January. He will also serve up to ten years on theft charges from 2018, which had been suspended.

Schoenewald allegedly took numerous items from an oil field pumping station on or around January 18. Batteries were allegedly stolen from two tractors and three vehicles and other missing items included battery charges, battery cables, buckets of hydraulic oil, an air compressor, space heaters, a weed eater and a semi-automatic pistol.

A search warrant was served on Schoenewald’s residents on January 21 and several items were allegedly observed matching the descriptions of the stolen property.

At a property on a private road, the owners claimed to have arrived home on January 19 to see an unattended pickup later confirmed as belonging to Shoenewald stuck in the snow and footprints leading to the shop building, which was now unlocked. According to court reports, someone had gone through the contents of the building and placed items of value on a flatbed trailer.

At a second building, screws from the hasp used to lock the door had allegedly been removed and a case of antifreeze placed by the door. At a third building, a set of deer antlers and a shovel had been taken and were now located next to the stuck pickup.

Schoenewald allegedly admitted to driving the pickup to the location it was found and entering various buildings.

Schoenewald was found guilty of one count of burglary and sentenced to a period of between two and ten years in a state penal institution. The sentence will run consecutively to the seven to ten years previously imposed for a felony count of theft in 2018, which had been suspended pending successful completion of seven years of probation.

A restitution hearing will be held at a later date.