Mini-Storage of Lincoln targeted with break ins

Sometime during the night of Nov. 21 or the early morning hours of Nov. 22, thieves broke into eleven storage units at Mini Storage of Lincoln behind Mountain View Co-Op.

Gerry Malek, who checks on the storage units at least twice a day for Maggie and Tim Mulcare discovered the break ins during his morning rounds.

It's unclear at this point what all may have been stolen from the various units, although hand tools and fishing poles were among the items reported thus far.

Corporal Robert Rivera, Lincolns resident deputy sheriff, said they don't currently have any suspects in the break-ins and are still working with the victims to determine the value of any stolen items.

"We would love any information leading to a suspect or witnesses," Rivera said.

Given the lack of information, it's unclear if the thefts were carried out by someone from the area or by individuals passing through on Highway 200.

Maggie Mulcare, who owns the storage facility with her husband Tim, agreed. "We'd really appreciate the community's help in trying to find out who's doing this."

Mulcare said they are adding more security cameras to the storage facility and are also increasing in-person patrols. She said none of the break ins involved damage to the doors of the units but were mostly the result of broken locks. She said they have security covers for the latch and lock available for their renters.

There are also locks available on the market that are difficult to get bolt cutters on or to break using common tools.

Mulcare said the thefts should be a reminder for Lincoln residents to pay attention to suspicious activity, particularly given the number of seasonal residences in the area.

"I don't know if it's somebody local, she said. "It's terrible that it's happening in our community."

Mulcare said last week's break-ins were the most at their facility at one time. Storage unit break-ins in Lincoln are relatively new but still a relatively rare phenomenon in Lincoln. In 2016, four units at Mini Storage were hit in January and two more were broken into later that year in July, when thieves also broke into six units at Stonewall Storage. Those were the first break ins at Mini-Storage in its 30-year history, and the first at Stonewall in many years.

Regardless of the value of any missing items, under state law, if caught the perpetrators will likely face felony charges due to the sheer number of units they broke into. In the 2016 cases, Sgt. Jason Crum, then a north deputy, said the number of break-ins that July met the legal definition of a "common scheme," defined in part as "a series of acts to accomplish a single criminal objective or a plan that results in the repeated commission of the same offense."

If anyone has information related to the crime or saw anything during the night of Nov. 21-22, they can call the sheriff's Office non-emergency number (406) 447-8235