GAYLORD – Aug. 14 a trooper from the Michigan State Police (MSP) Gaylord Post was dispatched to investigate a B&E of a business in Bagley Township.
The business reported the loss of nearly $6,000 dollars of equipment and supplies stolen from a trailer on their property. The trooper canvased the area and located another business with a camera facing the roadway near the venue.
He contacted the asset protection officer and was able review a considerable amount of footage and captured a man casing the business next door. The trooper knew the woods behind the venue occasionally had homeless encampments. He checked the area and located a path through the woods with signs of the theft.
He located a tent with a tarp covering all the stolen property along with property from five other businesses. The trooper was able to identify the suspect by personal items left at the camp.
The suspect, 19-year-old Gabriel Benjamin Murphy from Prudenville, was arrested later that evening by the Gaylord City Police Department and lodged in the Otsego County Jail.
Through the course of the investigation, troopers solved seven B&E’s and recovered $16,317 of stolen equipment and merchandise.
Murphy was arraigned in the 87-A District Court in Otsego County one count Larceny in a Building, one count Receiving Stolen Property more than $1,000 but less than $20,000, and one count Breaking and Entering a Vehicle with Damage to Vehicle.
He remains lodged in the Otsego County Jail pending arraignment from the other cases against him.
