Mayville contractor arrested on charges

Authorities allege that a contractor broke into a rural Mayville, N.D., home and cut a plastic hot-water line beneath the kitchen sink, creating a leak that caused thousands in water damage while the homeowners were away.

Douglas M. Strand, 32, of Mayville, is being held in the Traill County Jail on felony charges of burglary and criminal mischief. He’s set to make his initial appearance Wednesday in state District Court in Hillsboro, N.D.

According to an investigation report, a deputy was dispatched to the home of Jason and Dawn Huard just after 8:30 p.m. May 9. The couple, who had been out of town, came home that evening and found water flowing from under their kitchen sink onto the floor and into their basement, the report says.

Traill County Sheriff Mike Crocker said he did not have an official cost estimate of the damage, but a criminal complaint puts the damage at more than $10,000.

The investigation report says Strand entered the home through a garage window and left muddy boot prints on the garage floor. Crocker said investigators believe Strand entered the home about noon May 9.

Strand, who owns and operates DMS Construction in Mayville, had been contracted to pour a cement driveway for the Huards. It’s not clear why he would have cut the water line inside the home, but according to the report, Strand stopped by soon after the couple discovered the water damage and told them to throw away the leaking water line because it would cause a delay in their insurance company settling a claim.

On Thursday, an investigator from the sheriff’s department and one from the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation met with Strand and attorney William Brudvik at Brudvik’s office in Mayville.

During the meeting, Strand acknowledged being at the Huard’s home twice on May 9; Brudvik eventually advised Strand not to say anything else, the report says.

Investigators searched Strand, his pickup and his home, seizing a Leatherman tool, a screwdriver and a chisel from his pickup and work boots from his home.

The investigation report says the pattern on the sole of the boots matches the prints left on the garage floor. The pry marks on the garage window are consistent with the shaft and blade of the chisel, report states.

Brudvik said Monday that he has not yet been hired to represent Strand. The Traill County Jail does not accept messages for inmates.

Archie Ingersoll is a reporter at the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald which is owned by Forum Communications Co.

Tags: north dakota, news, crime, contractor, mayville