Natrona County Man Sentenced to Prison for Business Burglary
A man charged with burglarizing a business -- and leaving his cell phone behind during the crime -- was sentenced to prison during a hearing in Natrona County District Court on Thursday.
John Clark McCallister, 34, was sentenced to a two- to four-year prison term by District Court Judge Catherine Wilking.
That was less than Assistant District Attorney Dan Itzen's recommendation of a three- to five-year term, but more than recommended by McCallister's Public Defender Dylan Rosalez.
Itzen said McCallister had a prior felony, and Rosalez agreed that a prison term was warranted.
McCallister declined to say anything when Wilking gave him the opportunity.
Court records say the case started in early April when the Natrona County Sheriff's Office was assigned to investigate a burglary at 71 Construction near Salt Creek Highway and Westwinds Road.
The investigator was told that an employee arrived at work on April 4 and found the main door to the office had been pried open, and a padlock that secured the door had been removed.
The employee walked around the building and found a cell phone lying on the ground next to the office.
The employee went into the office and found several keys for tool-storage buildings and keys for pieces of construction equipment had been stolen. The employee then called his supervisor.
That supervisor reported he had been driving towards Westwinds Road and saw a white pickup, occupied by a male driver, traveling in the opposite direction. The supervisor did not recognize the driver as one of his employees, and felt it was suspicious that an unknown person would be on the dead-end road.
The supervisor saw the truck's rear license plate and reported it to investigators.
When a deputy arrived at the construction site, she determined that the cell phone found near the office did not belong to any employees of 71 Construction.
The phone was unlocked and the deputy -- in an effort to locate the owner of the lost property -- found a Facebook profile belonging to "JC" McCallister was connected to the phone.
The investigator, who was parked at the intersection of Wardwell Road and Salt Creek Highway, saw a white Ford pickup truck which didn't have a front license plate. As the truck turned onto Wardwell, the investigator identified the driver as McCallister, based on previous contacts with him.
The investigator followed McCallister and saw that the rear license plate matched the plate described by the supervisor.
Upon stopping the truck, the investigator discovered the truck was reported stolen from Arvada, Colo, and arrested McCallister.
In an interview, McCallister admitted to committing the burglary. He told the investigator that the stolen keys were in the center console of the stolen truck.
McCallister reportedly refused to explain why he stole the keys. He admitted to having received the stolen truck about a week prior, and would not name the person who gave him the truck.