Charge filed in costly Garfield Bay burglary

SAGLE — A Bonner County man has been implicated in burglary in which more than $20,000 worth of property was stolen from a home at Lake Pend Oreille’s Garfield Bay.

Michael Ryan McDermott is charged with grand theft. McDermott also faces a burglary charge for stealing a wakeboard from Goodwill in Ponderay on March 24.

McDermott, 47, is scheduled to be arraigned on the felony charges on July 27 in Bonner County Magistrate Court, records show.

The Garfield Bay break-in occurred in September 2017, according to a criminal complaint. The alleged victim had inherited the home and its contents following a death in the family.

Gold and silver coin, in addition to antiques, furniture and silverware sets, were taken during the burglary, according to a probable cause affidavit.

McDermott’s vehicle was searched the day of the break-in due to a condition of probation in a prior criminal case. Several coins were recovered, the affidavit said.

McDermott denied involvement in the burglary, but allegedly admitted helping to unload swag from the heist at a Comeback Bay residence. He pinned the burglary on two other people, neither of whom is presently charged, court records show.

McDermott said he stole a majority of the coins taken from the burglary’s perpetrators, but they were stolen back, according to court records.

A search warrant was executed at the Comeback Bay residence whose occupant said he agreed to store boxes for one of the burglary’s perpetrators, who claimed the items were scavenged at local solid waste sites or won at storage unit auctions, court records indicate. The search also yielded designer purses made by Gucci, Chanel and Louis Vuitton, which retail for thousands of dollars. Those items appeared to be taken during a storage unit burglary in Sandpoint, the affidavit said.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.