Burglary Charge Sentence

A Guttenberg man has been sentenced to five years of probation after pleading guilty to burglary charges. 40-year old Lee R. Earl was recently sentenced in Delaware County District Court. Earl pleaded guilty to second-degree theft-habitual offender, third-degree burglary, and third-degree criminal mischief. Earl was arrested following a burglary report on August 12th in the 1300-hundred block of 280th Avenue in Delaware County. The property owner reported observing surveillance footage of a vehicle and two masked individuals on his property. When deputies responded, the suspect vehicle fled the scene by driving through a cornfield. Pursuing deputies followed corn stalk debris that had fallen from the vehicle to the Colesburg area and identified Earl as the driver of the vehicle. The Iowa State Patrol stopped Earl’s vehicle in the Guttenberg area. The vehicle was covered in fresh corn stalks and appeared to have recent damage. Earl’s juvenile son was also involved in the incident and admitted to being on the property and participating in the theft of multiple items. Earl will face 15-years in prison if he violates terms of his probation.