Evansville Teen Faces 22 Felony Charges for Alcova Cabin Burglaries
A teenager charged with nearly two dozen felony counts for his alleged role in a series of break-ins at cabins near Alcova Lake last year entered not guilty pleas Monday afternoon in Natrona County District Court.
Christopher Wallace, 18, pleaded not guilty in January to a single charge of burglary. The additional 21 charges against him were filed last month, and Wallace pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine upon conviction.
The Natrona County Sheriff's Office began investigating in November after a series of alleged burglaries, property damages and criminal entries were reported Nov. 12-14.
Court documents say all the incidents had a similar fact pattern, which showed the suspects forced entry into a locked building by using blunt force or throwing something through a window.
Coincidentally, the owner of a cabin which was burglarized had set up a trail camera on his property just prior to the burglaries. He gave the camera's memory card to deputies.
Photos from the card reportedly showed two male suspects breaking through the cabin door. An investigator distributed a photo to Natrona County school resource officers and other law enforcement agencies, asking for help in identifying the suspects.
Just a few minutes after sending out the photo, the investigator was told Wallace was one of the suspects in the picture.
Wallace was a runaway at the time, having left home in May. Investigators were able to find Wallace on Nov. 15 and interviewed him at the Natrona County Sheriff's Office.
Court documents say Wallace allegedly admitted to breaking into the cabins and stealing property from cabin owners. He reportedly said Adrian Sixfeathers committed the burglaries with him.
The pair allegedly went into each cabin to find things they could take and sell for cash, which they would split between themselves.
Wallace said he and Sixfeathers broke into 7-10 cabins on Nov. 10 and about 11 cabins on Nov. 11.
If a window was present on a cabin, Wallace or Sixfeathers would throw a rock through it and one of them would go inside to open the door for the other. Wallace reportedly said he tried multiple times to force his way through main doors, but was unable. Sixfeathers, however, was able to force doors open using just his body weight, Wallace told investigators.
The pair reportedly took two stolen guns to Sixfeathers' house in Casper and hid them under the floor of a bedroom closet.
According to an affidavit, 14 of the 22 cabin owners reported a total of $19,700 in damages due to the alleged burglaries.
Wallace remains in custody.
Authorities are still looking for Sixfeathers. Anyone with information on his whereabouts can call the Natrona County Sheriff's Office at 235-9282.