Man Charged With Stealing Items From Woman's Dead Dad
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A man has been charged with stealing valuables that once belonged to a family friend's dead relatives.
Ray Allan Kiefat, 58, has been charged with one count of theft.
According to a criminal complaint, Kiefat was doing remodeling work on a home in Apple Valley and temporarily staying at the home while he worked there.
The victim of the theft, whose home was being worked on, said she was storing items that belonged to her late father and brother in the garage.
She called police in July 2010 when she noticed that there were multiple items missing, including power tools and a safe which had family keepsakes and jewelry inside.
Police looked into pawnshop records and found that Kiefat had pawned two items just a week earlier that had later been identified as the stolen items.
In September, the woman told police she had made contact with Kiefat who admitted to taking the property. He told her that he was doing her a favor that would also benefit him. He said he needed the money and she could file an insurance claim and get the money back for the loss. Kiefat told the woman that he would return the remaining missing property to her.
The victim told police that she was worried that if they contacted Kiefat, she wouldn't get the items back from him. So later in September, after Kiefat returned the remaining property, besides what he had already pawned, she called police again.
In Oct. 2010, police learned that Kiefat was arrested and Hennepin County Jail.
