Pierce County man ordered to pay $1,600 restitution in Dunn County burglary and theft cases

By Cara L. Dempski

MENOMONIE — An Ellsworth man was ordered to pay $1,599.82 in restitution after voluntarily pleading guilty to one count of burglary of a dwelling in a Dunn County case from 2016.

Andrew J. Helmueller, age 25, appeared before Dunn County Circuit Court Judge Rod Smeltzer June 30 for a restitution hearing after entering a guilty plea for a January 2016 case in which he allegedly stole several items from two different homes in the Boyceville area.

Helmueller was also named a suspect in the June 2016 burglary of audio equipment owned by the Boyceville Community Fire Department, and the theft of $30.58 from Express Mart in Colfax. While those charges were dismissed, they were read in for the hearing, and restitution amounts set for each case.

Nearly $1,100 of the payments ordered are to Alan Filipa, whose home was burglarized in early 2016. Filipa and his wife, Nancy, were in Arizona at the time of the burglary, and a neighbor was watching their home while they were away. 

The homeowner took the stand to describe the items taken from his house, which included jewelry, small tools, and a Stihl chainsaw. Filipa said many items were recovered, but some of the more expensive items – like the chainsaw – were not. 

He indicated he paid a $500 insurance deductible out of pocket, but was asking for an additional $358.33 for high-ticket items that the insurance considered depreciated and did not pay full value for. 

Filipa also asked for reimbursement for the $166 plane ticket and $72 airport shuttle ride that got him home from Arizona to meet with law enforcement and see to the necessary repairs to his home.

Defense attorney Fran Rivard contested the $358.33 above what was paid by insurance, saying depreciation is calculated by insurance companies and represents the value of items at the time they went missing or were destroyed. 

Smeltzer ordered $1,095.51 in restitution for Filipa, saying the payment for the deductible, plane ticket, shuttle, and additional compensation for items taken was appropriate.

“That (the stolen items) was not the only loss in the case,” Smeltzer informed Rivard after the defense attorney stated his case for not paying the $358.33. “I am characterizing the amount as what Mr. Filipa described as value. Depreciation was never established.”

Lisa Pederson took the stand next to represent the Boyceville Community Fire Department; she serves as the organization’s clerk/treasurer. Pederson informed the court several thousand dollars’ worth of audio equipment was stolen from the department’s concession stand at the Boyceville Municipal Airport in June 2016. 

The Boyceville department got most of the stolen items back, one microphone was not returned, and the diaphragm in one speaker needed replacing. The department asked for a total of $725 to replace the microphone and cover $400 in repairs after the steel entry door for the stand was kicked in to gain entry.

A cost estimate for the door’s repair was submitted as evidence before Rivard cross examined Pederson. He asked whether the microphone was the only item still missing. Pederson said it was, and further stated the department was asking for $325 to replace the item because it had been purchased just prior to the burglary and was still in its original box when taken.

Rivard asked the court to consider joint restitution for the items taken from the fire department, as there were six total suspects charged in the case. Smeltzer agreed to this, ordering that restitution worksheets be completed for Hope Chovan, Hayley Chovan, Robert Fawcett, Micah Minor and Andrew Meyer. Helmueller will be responsible for approximately $121 of the amount ordered.

The final person to speak from the stand was Town of Stanton homeowner Michael Nelson. He discovered several items had been removed from his shed the same week the burglary of the Filipa home was discovered.

Nelson requested $351.90 in damages to his shed door, payment for gas in two gas cans that were stolen, and the return of the items still held as evidence. Rivard argued against paying for the damaged door after Nelson indicated he replaced the door prior to the burglary. 

Nelson countered by indicating it actually cost $400 for the door to be installed, and he was asking only $325 in payment for it.

Judge Smeltzer ordered the $325 for the damaged door, and a further $26.90 for the gas, be paid as part of the restitution.

Rivard and Helmueller agreed prior to the hearing that they would not contest the $30.58 theft from the Express Mart. That incident involved Helmueller filling his vehicle with $30.08 in gas before entering the station, asking for the bathroom key, and then rapidly exiting the bathroom and driving off without paying for the fuel.