Description:
Lincoln, Nebraska criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with burglary, possession of burglar's tools, and theft by unlawful taking.



At around 7 a.m. on October 31, 2022, law enforcement officers responded to the report of a burglary at Walton Construction. The business owner, Kenneth Walton, reported that someone broke into his construction yard overnight, broke into a building by cutting a padlock, and then proceeded to steal welding equipment and various tools. The suspect loaded the stolen items onto a trailer that he attached to a lighter-colored early 2000's Ford Escape and stole gas from large gas tanks located on the property. The license plate on the vehicle appeared to be covered and was
unreadable. The estimated value of items taken was estimated at $32,000. Multiple trail cameras located on Walton's property captured images of the suspect who appeared to be a white male wearing a hoodie, jeans, gloves, and black boots.

Several months later, on December 12, 2022, law enforcement officers responded to another report from Walton Construction of a trespass in progress. Due to the prior theft, Walton had installed additional video surveillance cameras on his property, which alarms were triggered at around 4 a.m. When officers arrived, they set up a perimeter and observed the subject, later identified as Leiting, near fuel tanks located on the property. After officers announced their presence, Leiting fled but was quickly apprehended with plyers and a pair of bolt cutters in his possession. Officers determined that the locks on the fuel tanks had been cut and video surveillance footage showed Leiting carrying empty fuel cans up to the fuel tanks. After officers compared Leiting's booking photos to the images taken from Walton's trail cameras in October 2022, they determined that the same individual was responsible for the October burglary.

During the investigation into the thefts from Walton Construction, officers searched Leiting's property and located a utility flatbed trailer that had been reported as stolen from Tuscany Townhomes sometime between October 22 and 25, 2022. The utility flatbed trailer was valued at approximately $2,000.

As a result of these events, Leiting was charged with burglary, a Class IIA felony; possession of burglar's tools, a Class IV felony; theft by unlawful taking of the property of Tuscany Townhomes ($1,500 or more but less than $5,000), a Class IV felony; and two counts of subsequent offense driving during revocation, both Class IIA felonies. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Leiting pled no contest to burglary, a Class IIA felony; possession of burglar's tools, a Class IV felony; and theft by unlawful taking of the property of Tuscany Townhomes ($1,500 or more but less than $5,000), a Class IV felony, and the remaining two charges of subsequent offense driving during revocation were dismissed. The State also agreed not to pursue habitual criminal allegations. The State provided a factual basis containing facts as previously set forth.
State v. Leiting, A-24-051 (Neb. App. Oct 22, 2024)

Outcome: Affirmed

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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