Repeat offender pleads guilty to stealing camper

A Lincoln County man recently pleaded guilty to stealing a camper in the Eureka area two years ago.

Luke Deloy Hansen, 39, entered his plea on June 20 on a felony theft charge in front of Lincoln County District Judge Matt Cuffe. Hansen’s sentencing date is scheduled for Aug. 8. He remains locked up in the Lincoln County Detention Center. Theft carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in the Montana State Prison.

According to charging documents, Deputy Dale White of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office wrote that he began investigating the theft on Aug. 4, 2020. The owner, who was advertising the camper, reported its overnight disappearance from a lot in Eureka.

White recalled unsuccessfully checking to see whether any of the nearby businesses had surveillance footage of the lot. The one camera overlooking the spot was disabled, he wrote.

With no leads, White requested on Aug. 5 that the law enforcement agency upload a post on Facebook asking for help. Dispatchers soon after got a call reporting a similar looking camper, just missing license plates, located near the intersection of McKays Street and Voves Avenue in the Libby area.

After swinging through the area to check out the camper White noticed the generator was gone. The deputy then spoke with the tipster, who told him the camper appeared overnight, fitting the timeline of the theft, White wrote.

He eventually learned that the woman who rented the lot housing the camper lived next door. White returned to the scene and interviewed the woman, who denied ownership of the camper. She told the deputy that Hansen, who until recently dated a relative, brought the camper in the days prior.

She denied the camper was stolen, White wrote. According to her version, Hansen traded a pool table and several other items for the camper, which was valued at $24,000, court documents said.

But she gave White permission to inspect the camper. On it, he found the vehicle identification number — a match for the stolen camper. During his investigation, White noted that its locks were broken and the doors left open.

“The camper was set up on jacks, awning out and looked as if someone was planning to stay there,” White wrote. “I also found clothing inside [as well as] food and toiletries.”

Aiding with the investigation, Detective David Hall of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office check on the generator and learned that Hansen allegedly pawned it at a Libby shop. Meanwhile, White discovered that Hansen was on probation and was “considered absconded out of Butte,” he wrote.

Hansen also has two convictions in 2019 in Flathead County for writing a bad check and forgery.