Moorcroft man faces second set of burglary charges this year

Dewey Schoenewald of Moorcroft faces multiple felony charges associated with burglary after allegedly taking numerous items from an oil field pumping station. These charges may be combined with another active case involving Schoenewald that was recently bound over to District Court.

On January 18, a Crook County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a report of a theft on the D Road near Moorcroft. The victim informed the deputy that a theft had taken place that morning at his oil field pumping station.

At the location, the deputy reports observing several fresh tire tracks in the snow around machinery in the field. He also observed shoe prints.

The victim stated that both tractors had had their batteries stolen. According to the victim, one of his employees had been on site between 7 and 8:30 a.m. and saw no tire tracks around the machines; the victim himself had arrived at noon and observed the tracks, narrowing down the time of the crime.

Other missing items at the scene allegedly included the batteries from three additional vehicles, a duffel bag containing overalls, a semi-automatic pistol, a set of battery cables, three five-gallon buckets of hydraulic oil, an air compressor, space heaters, a weed eater, two batteries and two battery chargers.

A search warrant was served on Schoenewald’s residence on January 21 at 6:50 p.m. In a decrepit camper trailer on the property, deputies allegedly observed several items matching the descriptions of property stolen from the oil field pumping station, including the air compressor and space heaters.

The deputy notes that the items appeared to have just been placed in the trailer as there was no snow or dust on them to indicate they had sat in the elements for a period of time.

All items suspected of being associated with the burglary were removed from the scene and identified by the victim – including some he had not realized had been taken. On one stolen item, the victim stated he had written his phone number; this item was identified among those taken from the trailer.

Schoenewald has been charged with two felony counts of burglary, two felony counts of theft and three felony counts of wrongfully taking or disposing of property.

Schoenewald was bound over to District Court in January on charges related to a separate incident including burglary and possession of burglar tools. It is expected that the two cases will be combined if the newest charges are also bound over.