Ashland Search Warrants Yield Stolen Property: Authorities

Law enforcement officials recovered more than $5,000 worth of stolen property, ranging from copper wire to flat-screen TVs, after executing four search warrants in Ashland last month, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in Ashland County Circuit Court.

Two men have been charged with receiving stolen property in connection with multiple burglaries in both Ashland and Bayfield counties, according to the criminal complaint.

Eugene Grahn, 29, and Jeremy Foss, 28, both of Ashland, allegedly stored the stolen property at their residences and at a storage shed, the complaint states.

The stolen property included copper wiring from the Bayfield Electric Cooperative, along with property stolen from cabins in Bayfield County, according to the criminal complaint. Four pistols, Zippo lighters, a class ring, generators, air compressors, and a trolling motor were among the items found.

The criminal complaint does not accuse Foss or Grahn of committing the burglaries, though the complaint links the stolen property to the burglaries. In one instance, Ashland County Sheriff's Department investigators learned that the name engraved on a Zippo lighter, “Jim Wood,” was the same name listed by emergency dispatchers as having his cabin burglarized in Bayfield County, according to the criminal complaint.

At Grahn's residence, investigators found a pair of boots that allegedly matched the “description of footprints” left at the burglary of the Bayfield Electric Cooperative in October 2011, the complaint states.

The Sheriff's Department executed four search warrants on Jan. 30 and 31: two at Grahn's residence on 5th Avenue East, one at Foss' residence on 9th Avenue West, and one at a storage shed on 6th Street West rented by Foss, according to the criminal complaint.

At the storage shed, investigators found nearly $2,500 worth of copper wire. According to the complaint, Foss told investigators that Grahn had asked Foss to assist in hiding the copper.

The Sheriff's Department estimated the total value of the stolen property at $5,788, the complaint states.