A 50-year-old Gillette man whose court file says he goes by the alias “CRACKPIPE” faces a felony burglary charge on claims that he stole a baker’s purse from the back room of a bagel shop to use her credit card at a store that sells lockpick tools.
Colby Cole Thomas’s burglary case rose to the felony-level Campbell County District Court on Wednesday after he was charged about a week prior.
Thomas is, meanwhile, facing another burglary case that reached the felony court last April, on claims that he broke into the local Menard’s store.
In The Purse Case …
Gillette Police Department Officer Chance Quarterman responded at about 12:28 p.m. Dec. 3 to the Main Bagel Co., for a theft report, says an evidentiary affidavit filed in the case, which he wrote.
There he spoke with a woman who said she arrived for work at 6 a.m. that day and put her purse on a shelf in the back of the shop.
It contained two credit cards, her social security card, $40 in cash, keys to her Ford Bronco and keys to her home, she told Quarterman.
Six minutes before noon, the woman received a phone notification saying two of her credit cards had been charged, the document relates.
One $250 charge at Walmart was unsuccessful. Another $145.95 charge to Covert Instruments was successful, Quarterman wrote.
The woman checked the back room and realized her purse was gone, reportedly.
Quarterman confirmed with the shop owner that the back door was left unlocked, and anyone reaching that back room via the front would have come into the view of the staff, he wrote.
It was this observation that he linked to the state law’s definition of felony burglary, which describes an “unauthorized” entry into a place with the intent to commit a theft or a felony inside it.
Quarterman spoke with the owner of Covert Instruments, who offered to help in any way he could, providing a screenshot of the purchase order, the document says.
According to Quarterman’s account, the order showed the name Colby Thomas, but a shipping address that combined the address of a home where Thomas was reportedly staying, and the name of the woman to whom the credit card belongs.
The person placing the order gave an email address of TYL3RSUCK5@GMAIL.COM, the affidavit adds.
The company sells lockpicking tools and other tools “intended for the use of law enforcement/military/civilian use,” wrote Quarterman, adding, “The tools could also be used for breaking and entering a structure or vehicle.”
In Thomas’ other ongoing case, dating back to last spring, he’s charged with one count of felony burglary and another count of possessing burglar’s tools.
The Search Warrant
Quarterman and other officers deployed a search warrant at the home that shares the shipping address given on the order, at midday Dec. 4. They didn’t find evidence, or Thomas, Quarterman wrote.
A anonymous witness on the case said Thomas had been “bragging” about robbing someone around the timeframe the bagel baker’s purse vanished, the affidavit alleges. He’d been “heavily using controlled substances” and stealing multiple things, the officer added from that interview.
Quarterman wrote that Thomas faced a burglary charge out of Rapid City, South Dakota.
At about 10 p.m. Dec. 14, authorities arrested Thomas at that same home “on the probable cause from Rapid City’s investigation, the probable cause of my burglary investigation, and a felony Campbell County bond revocation warrant” on the earlier case, Quarterman wrote.
The Tally
Thomas’ newest case shows three counts: one of felony burglary (punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines), another of using personal identifying information without authorization (up to six months in jail and $750 in fines), and attempted unlawful use of a credit card (up to six months and $750).
That case shows a $25,000 cash or surety bond.
Meanwhile, another case under Thomas’ name and also outlying the alias “CRACKPIPE” lists one count of felony burglary, and another of possessing burglar’s tools – the latter punishable by up to three years in prison and up to $3,000 in fines.
This case is ongoing.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
