Police: Holcombe man burglarizes EC storage units

Dan Holtz, The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.
·2 min read

Jul. 27—EAU CLAIRE — A Holcombe man stole various items after burglarizing storage units on Eau Claire's west side, police say.

Travis E. Mentink, 38, was charged this week in Eau Claire County Court with two felony counts of burglary.

Mentink is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on Aug. 31.

According to the criminal complaint:

An Eau Claire police officer was sent Aug. 2, 2021, to talk with the owner of Big Red Storage, 2810 Mondovi Road, regarding broken locks at his facility.

The owner said sometime over the previous weekend someone had cut the locks off of four different storage units. Renters of two of the units reported items missing.

One renter said an Evinrude boat motor valued at $400 was missing. The renter said the shifting lever to the motor had been broken off and was still in his storage unit.

A second renter said a Dewalt drill and driver, valued at $400, and a Rigid floor mover fan, valued at $300, were taken from her storage unit.

The second renter said she was at the storage facility on Aug. 1, 2021, and none of the locks on the storage units had been cut off at that time.

The second renter said locks on other storage units had marks on them from a bolt cutter.

The police officer noted that the only locks that had been cut or attempted to have been cut were padlock-style locks and not circular locks.

Chippewa County authorities were investigating a different storage unit burglary on Aug. 11, 2021, and Mentink was the suspect in that investigation.

The boat motor taken in the Eau Claire storage unit burglaries was found in Mentink's vehicle. Mentink admitted taking the boat motor from Big Red Storage but denied entering any other storage units.

Mentink was also subsequently linked to the items taken from the second renter's storage unit.

Mentink is being prosecuted as a repeat offender. He was convicted of a felony count of uttering a forgery in November 2019 in Eau Claire County.

If convicted of the two new burglary charges, Mentink could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.