Shane Sorenson, 20, of Austin and employee of Sears in the Oak Park Mall has been charged with felony theft.

Thursday, January 11, 2001

Shane Sorenson, 20, of Austin and employee of Sears in the Oak Park Mall has been charged with felony theft.

John Howe, manager of the store, reported on Dec. 31 to the Austin Police Department that he suspected employee theft and that the suspect, Sorenson, was caught on tape.

After suspecting that one of his employees was stealing from the store, Howe informed them that he would be installing security video equipment .

Though he did not install the equipment immediately, when he did he witnessed Sorenson taking a JVC 32-inch television.

After serving search warrants on Sorenson’s residence, his girlfriend’s residence and his parents’ residence, police found $3,596 in merchandise, including DVD players, a Kenmore humidifier, additional television sets, CD players and speakers.

Howe believes that the thefts occurred over a period from June 1, 2000 to the present. Though some of the equipment was found at the suspect’s parents’ house, police do not believe the parents were aware of the thefts.

Austin residence vandalized

Donna Williams of Austin reported that her tenant’s upstairs apartment at 511 Second Street NW was vandalized sometime between Jan. 7 and the afternoon of Jan. 8.

Williams’ tenant in the apartment went to California and asked Williams to check on his apartment while he was gone.

On Monday afternoon, the tenant living below the apartment in question told Williams that allegedly four Southeast Asian adults had entered the apartment and "tore it apart."

When Williams check the residence, she found posters torn from the walls, electronics thrown around and the bed torn apart. Liquid hand soap had been spread on the sink and on the mattress. In addition, eggs were spread on the carpet.