A Man Has Been Charged for Taking $6,000 Worth of Equipment from a Fergus Falls Demo Site

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Fergus Falls, MN – A man from Detroit Lakes has been charged for stealing equipment from a demolition site in Fergus Falls.

According to court documents, the Fergus Falls Police Department received a theft report on August 5th stating that equipment had been taken from the demolition site on 801 Stanton Avenue. Officers spoke with the owner of the building and one of the contractors. They said that over the course of a weekend, batteries, grinders, drivers, saws, tool boxes and tool kits with an estimated value of over $6,000 had been taken from the site.

During the investigation, officers learned that 38-year-old Raymond Carlson had been hired to assist in the demolition, was working that weekend, was the only person working the day before the report, and had been absent on the day the theft was discovered.

The building owner told officers that he had noticed Carlson acting suspiciously, inspecting areas that he had no purpose of being in, taking frequent trips to the bathroom and at one point, he was taking apart a computer tower and told the owner that he planned to remove the hard drive to sell for himself.

On August 8th, officers received a tip that Carlson has sold the stolen equipment to three individuals. Police received search warrants and verified that the equipment he sold was from the demo site. One of the individuals that bought equipment told officers that Carlson had said that the equipment belonged to him and his brother, and he was selling them because he needed the money.

Carlson made his first court appearance on Tuesday, February 18th and has been charged with felony theft.