Dunn County jury finds Hobbick guilty of Town of Elk Mound burglary
By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A Dunn County jury has found 38-year-old Ryan Hobbick guilty of a burglary at A-Z Auto & Truck Salvage & Recycling Center on state Highway 29 near Elk Mound.
The jury reached its verdict following a one-day trial February 26.
In this particular case, Hobbick was charged with one felony count of burglary as a party to a crime, although he also is charged in other cases in Dunn County with felony charges of misappropriating identification to obtain money, several counts of fraud against a financial institution, issuing worthless checks, and credit card fraud in an amount greater than $10,000.
At the time of the Town of Elk Mound burglary, Hobbick lived in Ridgeland, although online court records indicate a current address of Menomonie.
Miles J. Gloss, an uncle of Hobbick’s wife, Tiffany, pleaded guilty last April to one felony count of burglary related to items stolen from A-Z Auto & Truck Salvage & Recycling Center and agreed to testify against others implicated in the burglary.
Gloss was sentenced to probation and 120 days in the county jail, but his probation was revoked in January, and he was sentenced to four years in state prison.
Gloss and Hobbick also were charged with multiple felony charges of theft and burglary in Chippewa County in connection with thefts from businesses and construction sites totaling more than $60,000.
Stevie Walls Sr., 53, Tiffany Hobbick’s father, and Stevie Walls Jr., 33, also were charged in connection with the thefts from A-Z Auto Salvage.
Court records indicate Menomonie addresses for Walls Sr. and Jr.
Court records previously listed addresses in Elk Mound and Boyceville for the two men.
Stolen property
Dunn County investigators learned that Walls Sr. had given stolen property to deputies while they were at his residence looking for Gloss.
Walls Sr. said he suspected the property was stolen from a place by Elk Mound and that Gloss had brought the items to his house.
Walls Sr. — who was charged with burglary, identity theft, obstructing an officer and bail jumping — said Gloss had brought a gun cabinet, a four-wheeler, a boat motor and numerous tools to his residence. Walls Sr. said Gloss and Hobbick had cut the lock off the junkyard gate and had replaced it with their own lock.
During the February 26 trial, Walls Sr. was granted immunity to testify against Hobbick.
Hobbick also is accused of stealing checks from A-Z Towing and signing the name of the deceased owner of the business, Wayne Larson, along with fraudulent use of a Menards credit card issued to Wayne Larson.
During his opening statement, Hobbick’s attorney, Jeremiah Harrelson, said Assistant District Attorney Andrew Maki needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it was Ryan Hobbick who was guilty and not his wife, Tiffany, Miles Gloss, or Donald Charles, who is Tiffany Hobbick’s mother’s boyfriend.
A-Z Towing
Michael Larson, Wayne Larson’s son, testified that his father had operated A-Z Towing for 25 years, and that since his father’s death, he has gone out periodically to check the property.
Larson testified that one day when he went to check on the property, he noticed that someone had changed the padlock on the front gate.
David Bolgren, an investigator for Menards, testified that $15,798 worth of merchandize had been ordered by the deceased Wayne Larson, including gift cards, a mattress, a rocker-recliner, copper pipe and “rose mauve” paint.
According to the criminal complaint, a search warrant was executed at the home of Ryan and Tiffany Hobbick in Ridgeland on December 15, 2014.
Law enforcement officers seized receipts from Menards totaling $5,377 in copper tubing and parts ordered from the Eau Claire Menards West; $3,896 in copper tubing and parts ordered from the Rice Lake Menards; $1,698 in furniture and personal products from Eau Claire Menards East; and a $2,000 Menards gift card that was ordered to be delivered to the Hobbick address in the name of Michael Johnson.
All together, more than $15,500 worth of online items were ordered from Menards, although according to records from Menards, $4,661 was returned or canceled for a total of $10,870.
Black Dodge
According to the complaint, a pickup truck with a Minnesota license plate was assigned to a 1999 black Dodge Dakota Ryan Hobbick had purchased, and the vehicle was identified as the truck operated by Hobbick when he scrapped items at Northern Metal Recycling in Chippewa Falls in October of 2014.
Hobbick scrapped 529 pounds of “new brite” copper at Kadingers outside of Downing in November of 2014. Records from Kadingers indicate that the items were brought in a black Dodge Dakota bearing the same license number.
Menards surveillance video shows a truck known to be registered to Donald Charles, Tiffany Hobbick’s mother’s boyfriend, picking up nearly $5,400 in merchandise from Menards West November 14, 2014, and that Ryan Hobbick appears to be present in the video, according to the complaint.
Hobbick scrapped 774 pounds of No. 1 copper at Northern Metal November 15, 2014, with a pickup truck registered to Donald Charles.
On November 13, 2014, a $766 order was made with the Menards card for building supplies, including a gallon of Pittsburg Paint called “Rose Mauve.”
A picture was located on the cell phones seized at the Hobbick residence showing this brand and color of paint being used to paint a room at the Hobbick residence, the complaint states.
Harrelson, Hobbick’s attorney, asked Walls Sr., Hobbick’s father-in-law, if Walls Sr. had ordered the items online from Menards.
Walls Sr. testified that he is illiterate and cannot read or write, so he could not have made the online order.
Tiffany Hobbick also was granted immunity to testify against her husband.
The jury was excused to deliberate at 6:32 p.m. February 26 and returned with a verdict of guilty at 7:52 p.m.
Judge Rod Smeltzer revoked Hobbick’s bond and remanded him into custody at the Dunn County Jail.
Hobbick is scheduled for a sentencing hearing at 3 p.m. May 24.
