Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Two men are expected to be charged with a felony theft charge for allegedly stealing two snowboards from Colorado Mountain College over the weekend.

Jesse Michael Lauder, 21, and Kenneth Brian Mills, 20, will be charged with theft, a class four felony, for the Saturday incident, Deputy District Attorney Elizabeth Wittemyer said Tuesday.

The men will be charged with a felony because the two snowboards are collectively worth more than $500, she said.

According to court records, the two men allegedly stole the snowboards that had been placed outside of Hill Residence Hall, 1400 Bob Adams Drive, by an 18-year-old student.

The woman placed the snowboards outside the residence hall at about 8:30 a.m. because she was giving a friend a ride home and needed room in her car, records show.

A friend was supposed to get the snowboards from outside but didn't do so until about 11:30 a.m., which is when the theft was reported, records show.

Police were able to trace the alleged theft to the two men because of a surveillance videotape of the parking lot outside the residence hall, records show.

The videotape shows the two men leaving a room inside the residence hall without snowboards, records show.

The videotape then shows the two men leaving the residence hall in a vehicle with two snowboards, records show.

Steamboat Springs police questioned both men at about 5 p.m. Sunday at the residence hall.

Both men admitted to picking up the snowboards and taking them to a friend's house, records show.

Lauder and Mills were booked into the Routt County Jail. They were later released when both posted $5,000 bail.

Police were able to recover both snowboards at a Steamboat Springs residence, records show. One snowboard is worth $450 and the second snowboard is worth $100, records show.

Both men are expected to appear in Routt County Court in April.