Clear Lake man charged with rural Floyd County vehicle thefts

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A Clear Lake man who was named but not charged in a series of alleged rural Floyd County thefts has now been arrested and charged.

Riley Joe Morris Brekke, age 21, was arrested April 8 in Worth County on a warrant that had been issued March 10. He was charged with first-degree theft, a Class C felony, and second-degree theft, a Class D felony.

Court documents allege that Brekke “participated in the theft of two vehicles from a residence by dropping off two people at a residence which was previously burglarized.”

The criminal complaint states, “The defendant knew that vehicles were going to be stolen. The two other people were arrested and identified the defendant as having been the person who drove them to the residence and dropped them off. The defendant aided and abetted these thefts.”

Alleged to have been stolen in early March from the residence in the 2500 block of 155th Street were a 2018 Hyundai Accent and a 2015 Chrysler 200. The car Brekke was alleged to have driven to and from the address, a Toyota Corolla,  was also identified as stolen.

The other two men, Curtis Alan Anderson, age 21, of Waterloo, and Nicholas Gaige McLeland, age 29, of Clear Lake, were each charged last month with four counts of first-degree theft; second-degree burglary, Class C felonies; two counts of third-degree burglary, Class D felonies; and other crimes.

Brekke had been named in the trial informations filed against Anderson and McLeland, but at the time had not been charged.

Brekke had been facing three Worth County felony burglary charges, two felony theft charges and a Class B felony charge of ongoing criminal conduct for allegedly joining Anderson and McLeland in thefts in early March from three homes near Grafton.

But last week the Worth County Attorney’s Office filed a motion to dismiss the charges against Brekke without prejudice, writing “at this time there is not sufficient evidence for which to obtain a conviction.” Worth County Magistrate Douglas Krull dismissed the charges April 8.

Being dismissed without prejudice means the charges could be refiled later.