Nov. 24—EAU CLAIRE — A Maiden Rock man stole forklifts from job sites for two local construction companies, police say.

Daniel G. Reamer, 40, was charged recently in Eau Claire County Court with a felony count of burglary and two felony counts of operating a motor vehicle without the owner's consent.

Reamer is free on a $1,000 signature bond, which prohibits him from having contact with Bauman Construction or Royal Construction.

Reamer returns to court Dec. 28.

According to the criminal complaint:

Eau Claire police officers were called Aug. 2 to a Royal Construction job site in the city for a burglary and theft.

A company employee said that between July 31 and Aug. 2, someone entered the fenced-in construction site and stole a forklift and an iPad from a construction trailer.

The suspect entered the construction trailer through the front door. The key for the stolen forklift was stored in a window sill and was missing.

Fresh tire tracks from the forklift were seen leaving the job site and proceeding onto Emery Street. A section of the fence was missing in the area where the forklift was driven out of the site.

On the same day, officers were also called to Bauman Construction Company regarding a stolen forklift.

A manager with Bauman Construction said a heavy-duty forklift was taken from the company's construction area off of County Line Road in Eau Claire County.

The manager said the forklift that was taken from the Royal Construction job site was left at the Bauman Construction site.

A police officer asked the manager about the difference between the two forklifts. The manager said the Bauman Construction forklift was newer and heavier. He said the Royal Construction forklift was out of gas when it was left at the Bauman Construction site.

On Aug. 3, Bauman Construction officials located their stolen forklift at B&B Electric in Chippewa County.

Reamer left the stolen forklift and stole a B&B Electric truck. He drove the truck to Pierce County, where he was arrested.

Images from a trail camera at the Bauman Construction site confirmed that the same person left one forklift there while taking the other forklift.

If convicted of all three charges, Reamer could be sentenced to up to 13 years in prison.