NISSWA - Bus tokens were the key to identifying a burglar who left an offensively odorous trail of clues behind him at Christ Community Church in Nisswa.

David John Young, 33, East Grand Forks, is facing two felony burglary charges after he apparently forcefully entered the church office to steal cash and several other items, leaving behind a path of destruction and a pile of human feces. Young was already looking at felony charges before he arrived in Nisswa. He was awaiting sentencing for felony charges in another county and fled during a jail furlough.

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According to a criminal complaint filed by the Crow Wing County Attorney's Office, at 7:38 a.m., Aug. 18, Nisswa police received a report of a burglary at the church, at 24646 Hazelwood Drive. A day care employee arrived for work at 6:45 a.m. and noticed several items askew, including a parent payment box and a can of Mountain Dew on a shelf that was not there the night before.

Upon arrival, an officer found no signs of forced entry on the outside. The day care worker advised the officer most of the damage was upstairs in the main church office.

Upstairs, the officer found the door of the office was removed at the hinges and inside the room, with chisel marks visible around the locking mechanism. The office was a mess: papers were strewn all over desks and the floor, open soda cans littered the area and soda appeared to have been poured all over and a mini-fridge and microwave were turned over. Several empty money bags were lying on the floor as well.

Clues began to appear as the officer observed the scene. A shoe print was recovered from paperwork strewn throughout the office and fingerprints were collected from a glass window leading to the office. The soda cans were collected for possible DNA evidence.

The assistant pastor's office, connected to the main office, was also ransacked, with drawers opened and papers thrown about, although the officer noted a laptop computer was left untouched. The officer found a wood chisel in the second office, the same tool believed to have been used to remove the hinge pins on the door.

A storage area up a set of stairs near the office was the last place the officer searched. Inside one of the storage rooms, white blanket-stuffing material was lying on the ground that appeared to have been urinated upon and the officer noticed the smell of feces. The officer lifted the material and found the source of the odor: a large pile of human excrement. Nearby, two dime-sized tokens stamped with "Eau Claire Transportation, good for one city fare."

The day care worker told the officer she may have seen the suspect the afternoon before. Between 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Aug. 17, she and other day care workers were outside on the playground when she witnessed a male enter the main doors of the day care. The worker said she did not see the male leave, nor did she see him inside the church, although she said it was common for people to come and go during business hours and she did not think much of it.

She said they did not hear anything upstairs the rest of the afternoon and the last employee locked the day care center doors at 6 p.m.

She described the suspect as a white male, average height and slender build, clothed entirely in black. He also wore a black stocking cap and wore a black backpack, the worker recalled.

The officer informed area law enforcement agencies of the suspect's description and shortly after, a Pequot Lakes officer spotted someone matching the description at an outdoor table at Wendy's restaurant, 4872 County Road 77 in Nisswa.

The Nisswa officer located the male, who wore clothing matching the day care worker's recollection. A black backpack was on the seat next to him and visible inside was a black stocking cap.

The officer told the male he was investigating a burglary and asked him to stand up so he could pat him down for weapons. The male consented, and the officer proceeded to ask what he had in his pockets. The male emptied his pockets and told the officer he could also search his backpack.

Among the items the male removed from his pocket were the same bus tokens observed in the storage room of the church. The contents of the backpack included a portable tape player, food items, dirty socks, a CD folder containing older country music CDs and a shaving bag containing $82 in cash, an unopened book of stamps and various coins.

On closer examination, the officer noticed "CCC" written on the tape player in yellow lettering. A church representative confirmed the tape player was theirs. The officer also located a Wal-Mart tax identification card for the church among the male's belongings.

The male identified himself as Robert John Young, but stated his real first name was David. Young was advised of his rights and arrested.

Young told law enforcement he stayed at the Magnuson Hotel and Suites, 24186 Smiley Road, Nisswa, the previous night. A check of hotel records confirmed Young checked in at 9:37 p.m. While Young was being booked, the Nisswa officer learned a hotel employee had found in the lobby and turned in several items belonging to the church.

Young was found to have an active warrant for his arrest in Polk County. Polk County officials said Young was awaiting sentencing in a felony matter and was furloughed from jail July 30 to attend court in Grand Forks County. Young failed to return and escape charges were filed.

Judge Richard A. Zimmerman set Young's bail at $75,000 without conditions. Young remained in the Crow Wing County Jail Wednesday.



