Cd'A man arrested for alleged theft of antiques

Cougar Gulch residents discovered barn door open, several items missing inside

A 50-year-old Coeur d'Alene man was arrested Monday for allegedly stealing several antiques from a Cougar Gulch residence.

A deputy from the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office arrived at the residence around 6:30 p.m. Monday. The owners of the residence told the deputy they had been away over the weekend and when they returned home, discovered their barn door was open and several items were missing from inside.

The deputy noticed the lock on the barn door was broken and a mark in the wood where it had apparently been pried open, according the KCSO report.

When they entered the barn, the owners pointed out several items they knew to be missing, which included an antique German sewing machine with hand-painted designs, a Philco electric tube radio and several boxes of various antique tins and smaller items. There were voids in the dust where the boxes had been removed.

A neighbor had left a voicemail for the owners of the residence stating he had seen a white Cadillac parked near the barn while they were away. When the neighbor had returned home from dinner Sunday evening he had noticed the barn door was open. The neighbor had recorded the license plate number, which was later used by the deputy to locate the suspect.

The deputy contacted Steven Allert at the address obtained by the vehicle identification. When Allert led the deputy to the Cadillac in the garage, the deputy noticed a cardboard box in front of the car and recognized one of the items as a Marlin bill. According to the report, Allert admitted the items were not his and admitted to taking them from the Cougar Gulch residence. Allert allegedly told the deputy he had "piled (the stolen items) up so that he could give them back."

Allert was arrested on charges of burglary and grand theft, and cited for malicious injury to property. The deputy estimates the value of the items recovered at $1,345, according to the report.