Man accused in Battle Ground store burglary

A transient man accused of stealing about $2,500 worth of cash, merchandise and security equipment from a Battle Ground home decor store appeared Friday in Clark County Superior Court.

Christopher Lee Fettig, 27, faces allegations of second-degree theft and second-degree burglary, court records show.

At about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Battle Ground police were called to Bo’s Home Decor, 602 E. Main St., for a reported burglary. The store’s owner, Kristina Schlappi, said she arrived at work that morning and noticed some garbage bags out back had been rummaged through. She then discovered the back door to the store was unlocked. She said she opened the door and saw the store’s cash drawer, empty, lying on the floor in the back room, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

She and an officer walked through the store and found merchandise, including clothing and jewelry, was missing or had been rummaged through and moved. A fake security camera was missing as was a real security camera. A lockbox was pried open and another was ripped off the wall and lying unopened on the floor, the affidavit says.

Schlappi said her iPad, $250 from the cash drawer and a $164 night deposit were all missing. She estimated the store’s total loss to be $2,449, court records state.

Police found a Smith & Wesson folding knife on the floor near the cash drawer, according to the affidavit.

The manager of a neighboring business contacted police after finding a box of items he suspected were stolen from Bo’s Home Decor behind a dumpster. It contained nearly all of the merchandise that had been stolen, the affidavit says.

Fettig was taken into custody Thursday on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance. Police said he was also suspected in a number of thefts in the area, and he was wearing a stolen beanie from Bo’s Home Decor when he was arrested, according to court records.

Fettig told police he hangs around the store and stashes his stuff behind the nearby dumpster. He said he has a drug problem and often walks around in a “very high/intoxicated state,” the affidavit states. He also admitted that the folding knife found inside the store was his.

“Christopher admitted that he probably did break into the business and (stole) the items, but he kept insisting he did not remember doing it due to his state of mind at the time,” the officer wrote in the affidavit.

His bail was set at $10,000 in the burglary case, and he will be arraigned May 10.