A grand jury in Parker County, Texas, has indicted a man for breaking into several units last month at Hometown Self Storage in Azle, Texas. Stephen James Curry, 37, was charged on Feb. 6 with six counts of theft. If convicted, he faces jail time plus a fine of up to $10,000, according to the source.

The self-storage manager called authorities on January 13 after noticing several units had been breached. She then spotted Curry exiting a unit and was able to take a photo of him before he fled, the source reported. When a deputy from the Parker County Sheriff’s Office arrived, he caught Curry as he was jumping over a fence from a wooded area.

Curry, who lives in nearby Weatherford, Texas, claimed he was just looking for his girlfriend, but the deputy noticed tears in his shorts and fresh cuts on his legs. The man was also “sweating profusely despite wearing short sleeves and shorts with the temperature being in the mid 50s,” according to the affidavit. He was later identified as the perpetrator by the facility manager.

During an interview with authorities, Curry admitted he went to the storage facility to break into units. He told police he cut the locks on eight units and searched for tools, electronics or other valuable items. He also told deputies where he hid his backpack, hat and hoodie. The backpack contained a drill and battery, leather gloves, and a pry bar. Curry confessed he’d taken the backpack and drill from one of the storage spaces.

The district attorney’s office plans to file an enhancement notice to increase the possible punishment from “six months to two years” to “two years to 10 years,” according to Jeff Swain, assistant district attorney. “Burglars should know that if they decide to steal from multiple storage units, each time they break into someone else’s storage unit, they will be facing a separate burglary of a building charge,” he said. “It’s not just a single burglary charge for all of the burglaries at a particular storage facility. Hopefully, if criminals understand how the criminal prosecution works, it will discourage storage-facility burglaries.”

Hometown operates two facilities in Azle and one in Weatherford. The facilities offer climate-controlled and drive-up units, vehicle storage, truck rentals, and moving and packing supplies.

Source:
Weatherford Democrat, Weatherford Man Indicted for Multiple Storage Unit Break-Ins