HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The two teens suspected of several automobile burglaries in the city of Nickerson were in court Wednesday for the formal reading of charges.
Nineteen-year-old Kyle Nisbeth (top left) is now charged with 20 felony and misdemeanor counts, including several counts of auto-burglary, burglary of a non-dwelling, several counts of theft, including the theft of two firearms, one a shotgun and the other a rifle.
Nineteen-year-old Quentin Zumalt (top right) is charged with eight counts of auto burglary and eight counts of misdemeanor theft.
Magistrate Judge Cheryl Allen read the complaint to Nisbeth, who is still being held in jail on a bond of $57,500. He asked for a reduction, but Senior Assistant District Attorney Steve Maxwell asked it remain because of the number of counts charged so far and the possibility that more charges could be filed. Judge Allen went along with the state’s recommendation.
Zumalt, who is free on bond, appeared with his attorney Stan Juhnke and they waived the reading of the charges.
The investigation began when a possible suspect vehicle was found in the driveway of a residence in Nickerson. The residents said they were unaware of who the vehicle belonged to, so the vehicle was seized by sheriff investigators as evidence, partly because there were items visible in the vehicle that appeared to be from the recent burglaries and also this vehicle was identified as a vehicle of interest in other recent crimes in Reno County. Ultimately, eight burglary reports were taken on Jan. 4.
Over $7,200 worth of property has been reported as stolen and approximately one-fourth of that property had been recovered as of the time of the arrest.
The cases against the two suspects will now moved to a future waiver-status docket next month.