Posted: 8/3/04
Two men charged in Houston burglary
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Two men from Wisconsin have been charged with burglary and theft at Witt Pharmacy and Root River Market in Houston on July 10.
Matthew J. Fedie, 19, and Tony J. Page, 24, both of Janesville, Wisconsin, are currently in custody in the Rock County Jail in Janesville, Wisconsin, where they face charges there on probable cause possession of controlled substances.
The Houston County Sheriffís Department issued a felony warrant on July 27 for the two men for second degree and third degree burglary and theft in the Houston incident.
Houston County Attorney Rick Jackson expects that the men will stay in Wisconsin until prosecution of the pending charges there are complete. ìThe hold that we have placed on them will then come into play,î Jackson said on July 29.
Each man faces one count in Houston County of burglary in the second degree, one count of burglary in the third degree, one count of theft over $2,500, and one count of theft of a controlled substance. All are felonies.
Allegedly hid in the store
According to the criminal complaint, Fedie hid in Root River Market on July 10, then after the store had closed, he punched a large hole through the center of a metal door that separates the grocery store and the pharmacy and stole a large quantity of narcotics.
Store employees told investigators that two men matching Fedieís and Pages descriptions had visited the store twice during regular store hours on July 10. Store employees saw one man leave the store that evening, but not the other man. They searched the store, but could not find anyone.
Page told investigators that Fedie hid under a metal butcher-type table in the meat market area until the store closed, then went into the pharmacy and stole the narcotics and about $1,800 in cash.
Page said he and Fedie then drove to La Crosse and stayed a couple nights at a hotel, during which time La Crosse police arrested Fedie for retail theft and several warrants from La Crosse County. Page said he had to use most of the remaining stolen money to bond Fedie out of jail. They then went to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and Iowa before driving to Rock County, Wisconsin.
Deputies from the Rock County Sheriffís Office stopped Page and Fedieís blue Plymouth minivan on Interstate 90 in Rock County on July 15 because the license plates on it were registered to a 1987 Chevrolet Cavalier.
A search of the minivan, and the back of the squad car in which the two men were transported to jail turned up various Schedule I and II narcotics.
Page told detectives that he had stolen the drugs from a city across the river in Minnesota, but could not recall the name of the city. A map in the van revealed the circled city of Houston, which led investigators to the Witt Pharmacy/Root River Market burglary five days earlier.
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