Stolen jewelry creates bad blood between neighbors
SHEBOYGAN (WITI) -- A typical case of neighbors not getting along. But after years of bad blood, things take a turn for the worse.
"One of the residents of Bains trailer park came home one day she was gone at a conference and she found that quite a bit of her jewelry was stolen," said Sheboygan County Assistant District Attorney, Alexandra Smathers.
The jewelry stolen was not just trivial trinkets either, FOX6 News is told the jewelry was valued at close to $6,000 dollars.
"All 14 carat gold, very sentimental value to this woman," said Smathers.
The woman lives next door to the park manager. When she found her jewelry gone, she pointed her finger at the manager's step-son, 44-year-old Dutcher Matyjasik.
"He has a history of stealing from individuals at this Bains trailer park so that was immediately who she thought it was," said Smathers.
Officers in the Sheboygan County Sheriff's Department were able to search a website that tracks people who sell or pawn property.
"When they looked on this site they saw several different transactions that were conducted by the defendant by Dutcher and all of it was jewelry taken by from this woman's trailer park," said Smathers.
According to the criminal complaint, Matyjasik had sold the pieces to two Milwaukee area stores, and had received close $1,000 in return. Even though the mystery appeared to be solved, it still wasn't a happy ending for the woman whose jewelry it was.
"Officers weren't able to recover the jewelry because the jewelry shops had already melted down the items for gold," Smathers said.
But Matyjasik appears to have helped build the case against himself, though perhaps by accident.
"He had a visit from his mother and then also called his mother from the jail all of this was recorded he was informed beforehand that all of this was recorded and he admitted in the jail calls and during his meeting with his mother that he did sell the items," Said Smathers.
The criminal complaint says Matyjasik claims to have found the jewelry. That's why he's being charged with receiving stolen property. That's a felony, and if convicted, he could spend up to 7 1/2 years in prison.