Baker City man busted for burglarizing vacant building
By Joe Hathaway on Thursday, May 16th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
BAKER CITY — A Baker City man faces several charges after being arrested for allegedly stealing from a vacant building.
41-year-old Neal Sloan Lewis was arrested by Baker City Police on Monday, May 13. He’s accused of breaking into a vacant building on 5th & Madison behind the St. Elizabeth Towers. The building was formerly an apartment complex.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the owner of the building, who lives in Redmond, was in town to do repairs in the building on April 26. He noticed the building had been broken into and several pieces of foam insulation board were damaged or missing. The report states that a neighbor had seen a man carrying similar boards near the building shortly before the owner arrived.
That same day, officers were called to Lewis’ house, just a block away from the vacant building, on a report that he was shouting. Officers noticed that foam insulation boards similar to the ones that were stolen were in front of Lewis’ house.
After an investigation, officers then returned to Lewis’ residence on May 13. He claimed to officers that he didn’t break into the building, only that he got them from a transient who was illegally staying in the building.
Lewis was arrested and charged with First-Degree Theft, Second-Degree Burglary and Criminal Mischief.
