Wisconsin contractor working in Minnesota sentenced for theft of Vesta trailer

A Wisconsin man, Eric James Wyne, age 37, was sentenced in Redwood County Court for felony theft while working under contract for a Redwood County business on jobs in the area.

According to court documents, on Aug. 2, 2022, the Redwood County Sheriff’s Office learned of the theft of a trailer from a business in Vesta. The victim identified Wyne as an individual who had been observed leaving the scene of the business. Wyne was a contractor laying fiber optic cable in the Vesta area for the previous six or so weeks. Two witnesses stated they had seen Wyne hook his pickup to the empty trailer, and that he told them he had gotten it from a friend in Windom sometime between July 27 and Aug. 2, 2022.

An investigation of Wyne’s cell phone GPS coordinates showed he had not been in or near Windom during those days. However, GPS information showed Wyne was in the area of Vesta during those days.

On Jan. 8, Wyne was sentenced to two years supervised probation, 350 hours community work service, fees of $135, and restitution of $10,000.