Man arrested for theft files complaint

Saturday, September 7, 2013
Chris D'Elia stands where the dumpser in the background was sitting on West Ashland Street in Nevada on August 18 when D'Elia was discovered cutting some of the plastic wrapped chicken wire contained in t the dumpster by Nevada police. Some of the wire and other trash from the dumpster is still visible on the edge of the roadway. Photo by Rusty Murry/Daily Mail.

Nevada Daily Mail

A Nevada man charged with theft and trespassing has filed a formal two-page complaint against the Nevada Police Department after an incident where police allege he removed construction materials from a construction site Dumpster last month.

Christopher E. D'Elia, 56, of Nevada said he is innocent and that he had permission to remove items from a Dumpster located on West Ashland Street near the construction site at the Nevada High School Aug. 18.

A probable cause statement filed in the Vernon County Circuit Court on Aug. 27 states that officer Anthony Strope located D'Elia at the construction site at 2:15 a.m. first "walking around the job trailer in the shadows" then "attempting to cut some "metal fencing out of a pile of debris."

According to court documents, D'Elia was wearing a head-mounted flashlight.

D'Elia said he had a 12-foot trailer hooked to his truck and safety cones set up on his work site.

The document stated he also told officer Strope and Sgt. Richard Burdick he had "permission to be on the site" and take the metal fencing, which was short chicken wire covered with plastic and used to control job site erosion.

D'Elia said he told the officers "he had taken approximately $1,000 worth of materials from the site."

The next day Strope confirmed with a Crossland Construction employee that no one had permission to be on the site after hours or remove any materials, stated the probable cause statement.

According to D'Elia, he did nothing wrong because he was working on a public roadway and collecting items considered to be trash.

D'Elia said he was working during the odd hours to beat the heat and let his son sleep. D'Elia also claims that a sub contractor gave him permission to take the items.

Crossland manager Joe Sloniker said "no one had permission" to remove items from the site and no one else was authorized to give permission.

D'Elia maintains it was in the public domain and states in his complaint that at the time of the incident, officers tried to prove that "I didn't have permission to be there."

D'Elia maintains his innocence in the complaint and claims the officers kept trying to make something out of nothing.

D'Elia was arrested on Aug. 29 on a misdemeanor charge of trespassing and a felony charge of stealing.

His complaint states that he was held in jail for five days on a cash only bond. It also states that he had to use his entire disability check to post the bond and now he and his 8-year-old son are struggling to feed themselves.

D'Elia said he gave consent to have his home searched because "I've got nothing to hide." D'Elia claims he is not on probation or parole, and has never been convicted of a felony. He also said his messages for Nevada Police Chief Graham Burnley have gone unanswered.

Burnley said in a telephone interview that the case is an active, ongoing investigation and he is unable to comment on the particulars. He also said his department takes every citizen complaint very seriously and a strict protocol is in place for handling such complaints.

Burnley said the complaint will be assigned to "a senior officer for investigation," during which time all parties will be given ample time to present their side. The police department and complaining party will be advised of the findings when the investigation is finished.

City Manager JD Kehrman said, "It's our policy at the city to investigate any complaint that someone makes.

"We do believe it's a law enforcement matter as the prosecutor issued charges."

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