Four plead not guilty in Woodstock Blain's Farm and Fleet theft

Four people have pleaded not guilty to charges filed in connection with a June theft at the Woodstock Blain’s Farm and Fleet, where surveillance video and multiple sets of dusty shoe prints helped police identify the alleged thieves.

A Woodstock Police Department report obtained by the Northwest Herald through a public records request shed more light on the investigation that led to the arrests of Andrea Nielsen, 31, Cody Shambo, 33, Benjamin Holden, 23, and William Culley, 40.

Each of the four remained at the McHenry County Jail Friday on multiple charges connected to the June 17 theft. Nielsen, Culley and Shambo made brief court appearance Friday in McHenry County court where their cases were continued to later dates.

Although police originally charged the group with burglary, those counts were dismissed when a McHenry County grand jury approved lower-level theft charges that typically carry a shorter prison sentence, court records show.

Each of the men is charged with theft, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal damage to property, while Nielsen is charged with only theft and criminal damage to property, records show.

The investigation into the thefts began about 5 a.m. June 17, when Woodstock police officer Thomas Nickels began looking into a reported theft at Blain’s Farm and Fleet, 11501 Route 14, according to the police report.

When he arrived, Nickels discovered that a panel of the business’ access gate had been cut open and a pallet of salt was moved, granting access to the property, according to the police report.

A further search of the property led police to discover shoe prints in the dust on top of two damaged metal crates, which had contained a pair of presumably stolen riding lawn mowers. Nearby, officers found a pair of red Tekton bolt cutters, according to the police report.

At the time, Nickels was assisting with a similar case involving the same white 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe that was seen on video surveillance at the Woodstock Farm and Fleet, according to the report.

As Nickels was investigating the theft, the Tahoe was spotted west of Harmony Hill Road in Marengo. A McHenry County sheriff’s deputy who sent to check the area, stopped the vehicle, occupied by Shambo, Culley, Holden and Nielsen, according to the report.

McHenry County sheriff's deputy Timothy Bengtson has been placed on paid administrative leave in connection allegations that he placed his arm across Nielsen's neck while detaining her. Woodstock police brought the video to the sheriff's attention after reviewing Nickel's body camera footage from the arrest, Woodstock Deputy Police Chief Jeffrey Parsons has said.

The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office is conducting its own criminal investigation into the matter, State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally has said. The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office previously declined to comment on the allegations while the investigation is ongoing.

Once police detained Nielsen and the men, officers found two lawn mowers on the back of a trailer that was hitched to the back of the Tahoe, according to the police report.

“The mowers were folded down and still had shipping/packaging materials on them indicating to me they were new,” Nickels said in the report. “The machines located matched the mowers which were believed to be stolen from Farm and Fleet.”

Police also recovered suspected heroin and cocaine residue, drug paraphernalia, chain link fencing, and zip ties from both the vehicle and the arrested individuals' pockets, according to the report.

During a police interview, Shambo and Holden claimed all three men were smoking crack cocaine in the vehicle, Nickels wrote.

A further inspection of Holden and Culley’s shoes revealed both pairs “strongly resembled the footprints left on the crate at the Farm and Fleet,” Nickels wrote.

While an exact value of the stolen items was not immediately available, Farm and Fleet staff told police the mowers cost a combined $6,200 and estimated about $153 worth of damage to the sandbags that were moved to access the property, according to the police report. The trailer used to pull the mowers was valued at an additional $1,690, Nickels said in the report.

Culley, Shambo, and Holden are due back in court on Sept. 18, Sept. 11 and Aug. 21, respectively. Nielsen’s next court date is scheduled for Aug. 27.