Burglary suspect charged with ten felonies in Cavalier County
Jul. 24—CAVALIER COUNTY — A man has been charged with ten felonies for his suspected involvement in a burglary that occurred in Cavalier County.
A warrant for 34-year-old Jonathan Wayne Royce's arrest was issued on Wednesday, July 19, but he had not been arrested as of Monday afternoon, July 24.
Royce is charged with two Class B felonies: night burglary and theft between $10,000 and $50,000. He's charged with eight Class C felonies: key theft, theft of an implement associated with money and six counts of firearm theft. His final charge, facilitation of theft between $10,000 and $50,000, is a Class A misdemeanor.
According to an affidavit in the case, the Cavalier County Sheriff's Office responded to a reported burglary in Fairdale, North Dakota on March 13.
All three structures on the property showed signs of trespassing, with lights on and doors left wide open, the affidavit said.
There were signs of forced entry into the house, which was "trashed," the affidavit said. Several guns were missing from a gun cabinet. A safe had been broken into, and a number of items were missing from it, including money, jewelry, keys, vehicle titles and checkbooks.
Tools, multiple sets of keys and a vehicle title were missing from the garage. Cigarettes were found in the vehicle, and the reporting party said they hadn't been there before, so they were sent to the North Dakota State Crime Lab for DNA testing. A glove and strands of hair were also sent in.
On March 27, law enforcement was informed the stolen checks were being used throughout Fargo, West Fargo and Moorhead. Several arrests were made and two individuals were named as the people who originally possessed the checks — Royce and an unnamed individual, the affidavit said.
The reporting party explained he knew Royce, who had been at the property before and would know when no one was there. Additionally, lab results came back with a DNA match to Royce.
