Police arrest 3 in connection with Troy burglary

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and Troy Police Department teamed up early Saturday morning with the arrests of three suspects for their alleged involvement with a burglary and vehicle arson.

Jason R. Eby, 34, Josiah W. Mong, 18, and Kyle J. Cavanaugh, 22 – all of Bonners Ferry, Idaho – were taken into custody.

The incident began at 3:50 a.m. when Troy police responded to an alarm that went off at Booze ‘N Bait. The suspects were allegedly in the process of stealing firearms and alcohol, said Mitch Walters, Troy chief of police.

“Everyone did their job in a timely fashion. Officer (Kit) Pearson had a three-minute response and caught one bad guy in Booze ‘N Bait stealing firearms and alcohol,” Walters said. “We took him into custody and the other bad guys sped away in a pickup truck.”

The same truck was later identified on fire just outside the Libby city limits. According to the sheriff’s office, a truck fire, later suspected as arson, was reported at 5:06 a.m., on Highway 2 at the end of the four lanes west of Libby.

“We knew that the folks in the arsonists’ truck were the same folks that were part of the burglary,” Walters said. “I was driving by on the way to Libby and thought, ‘hey, that’s my truck (from the burglary).”

Police put out information over the scanner to describe the suspects. A short time later, two men fitting the description were found walking in front of Western Building Supply in Libby. By 7 a.m., sheriff’s office deputies had taken the pair into custody.

Troy police made the arrest on Eby while county deputies arrested Mong and Cavanaugh.

“Everyone, the alarm company, the dispatch center, Troy City Police and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office all responded professionally and in a timely manner,” Walters said.