Hayden, ID: – On April 16, 2020, at about 8:00 am, Sheriff’s deputies responded to the Little Tree Storage facility located in the 200 block of W Bentz Rd, located north of Hayden, Idaho for a reported storage unit burglary in progress.
Upon deputies arriving on scene, they contacted a male, later identified as Reese J. Matthews, 43 years old of Manteca, CA inside one of the storage units. Once he was detained, KCSO Property Crimes Unit detectives were summoned to the scene to assist with the investigation.
Detectives found that over the period of at least a month, Matthews had been burglarizing storage units within the facility, but also placing his own locks on others’ units in an attempt to disguise the fact that they had been burglarized but also giving him continued access to them. Detectives were able to confirm at least ten storage units had been burglarized and several items of one victim’s property was in the bed of Matthews’ truck. Matthews was subsequently arrested for burglary and grand theft. He was booked into the Kootenai County Jail. During the investigation, detectives located a large amount of stolen property in another storage facility that Matthews was using.
Currently, detectives are asking individuals that have storage units at the Little Tree Storage facility to check their units and ensure they have not been burglarized. Additionally, it appears that Matthews may have been selling stolen property using the “OfferUp” app. As such, detectives are asking that anyone that has had dealings with Matthews to contact Detective Meehan at (208)446-2121 or by email at pmeehan@kcgov.us
Ben Wolfinger, Sheriff
By: Lieutenant Stu Miller
