TOWN OF ROCK ELM – An Elmwood man is accused of breaking into a Rock Elm home, stealing tools and electronics and trading them for drugs.

Allen Gene McCuen, 35, posted a $25,000 signature bond Feb. 8 on felony burglary – building or dwelling (as party to a crime) and concealing stolen property (as party to a crime). If convicted, he faces up to 12 years in prison and/or up to $25,000 in fines. He is scheduled to next appear in Pierce County Circuit Court at 8:30 a.m. March 3 for a status conference.

According to the complaint: A man reported a possible burglary at his son’s property on 170th Street in the town of Rock Elm at 3:42 p.m. Feb. 27, 2021. He had found a broken screen lying next to the house and items were missing from the residence. The window with the broken screen was still cracked and it appeared someone had gotten in that way.

When police arrived, there were no other signs of forced entry. On the living room wall, an empty TV plate remained where a TV had been taken. The complainant’s son lived out-of-state and returned from time-to-time to renovate the house. The complainant checked on the house while his son was away and had discovered the break-in.

Police located shoeprints in some sheetrock dust on the floor, which didn’t match the complainant’s shoes. Outside the residence, the officer found a Newport cigarette butt on top of the snow that looked fresh. The cigarette butt was sent to the state crime lab for DNA testing.

The homeowner gave police a list of missing items, which included a 12-volt battery ($250), a 20-volt XR drill ($300), a Dewalt 20-volt Impact ($200), a duffel bag of miscellaneous hand tools, 3M Bluetooth headphones ($60), two Dewalt 3 amp hour batteries ($200), a 42-inch TV with a Roku built in, an Xbox One, five games and some Halo LED lights. He also told police that he didn’t know of anyone who had been at his house who smoked.

Police received the DNA test results taken from the discarded cigarette butt on Dec. 8, 2021, and the DNA belonged to McCuen. DNA from another cigarette butt came back on Nov. 15, 2021 to Melissa E. Teegarden, 34, Menomonie, who police located in Dunn County Jail. When they interviewed her, she admitted to going to the 170th Street property with McCuen in his truck early one morning. She told police they took tools but no longer had them, because they were traded off “for dope.” She offered to pay the victim back.

When police interviewed McCuen, he said he remembered going to the house but the details were foggy. He thought they might have entered the house through the front door but couldn’t remember. He had met Teegarden through friends and hung out with her a few times. He said he’d been in a lot of places at that time, but the details were fuzzy due to drug use.

Teegarden will appear in Pierce County Circuit Court at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 28 for an initial appearance.

Allen Gene McCuen