Sheboygan, WI (WHBL) - 48-year-old Dean J Crimmins of Sheboygan is facing a felony charge of burglary of a building or dwelling. Crimmins is accused of stealing a cash box, bank deposit bag, and five-to- ten Kwik Trip gift cards from the Aim Insurance Company on Erie Avenue.
A criminal complaint filed in Sheboygan County court states that Crimmins was hired by the insurance agency for maintenance work. He conducted some of the work during normal business hours such as maintenance to lighting fixtures. But, on Sunday August 9, Crimmins was to paint an exterior door on the business.
Sometime between August 7, and August 20 the burglary occurred. An office worker reported the missing items to Sheboygan police on August 20, after discovering that a locked cabinet had been pried open. A spare key that would have been used to open the cash box was also missing from a worker’s desk drawer.
Investigators dusted both the drawer and cabinet for fingerprints. They also learned that some of the gift cards were used at local gas stations. This is how they cracked the case wide open. Detectives working the case contacted the stores to confirm the dates and times that the cards were used, and requested surveillance video from those time frames. Police allege that Crimmins is seen in each video. However, in at least one video, another man is seen making purchases using the gift cards.
Police interviewed Crimmins about the burglary at Aim Insurance. He denied having robbed the place, but admits that he was working at the office on Sunday, August 9. He says that while he was painting, he called a friend to make a heroin purchase. Crimmins told investigators that the man from whom he purchased heroin gave him the gift cards and candy bars (candy bars were also in the locked cabinet).
But, Crimmins began to change his story as investigators presented him with still shots of his photo that were taken from the gas station surveillance videos. Officers also asked Crimmins to explain how his fingerprints wound up inside the desk drawer from which the key was stolen, on the cash box, and the deposit bag. Cimmins offered explanations but investigators didn’t buy them.
Crimmins could face up to 12 years in prison and a fine of $25,000 if convicted.