Saco man enters guilty pleas to burglary, theft and possession of dangerous drugs charges

On Monday, March 13, Monte Scott Broadbrooks changed his previous not guilty pleas to guilty pleas following the theft of hydrocodone pills and cash from his Saco neighbor, according to court records.

January 30, 2017, Broadbrooks entered not guilty pleas to two counts of felony burglary, two counts of misdemeanor theft, and to counts of felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs. In court on February 28, he changed those pleas to guilty. The PCN will report on Broadbrooks sentencing next week as court was in session as the paper went to press.

On December 12, 2016, a Phillips County resident who lives near Nelson Reservoir, traveled to Saco to check his mail and check on a friend's residence. The man said that while he was in Saco, he saw Broadbrooks and chatted with him. After running his errands, the man then drove back out to his cabin near the reservoir. On his way home, he met Broadbrooks' vehicle on the road by the state park coming from the direction of his cabin. The man said that Broadbrooks stopped him on the road and said he had been checking out a dumpster and then gave the man a boat trailer tire Broadbrooks had found in the garbage.

The man continued on to his cabin and when he arrived there, he immediately checked a fake pill bottle in the residence, suspecting he’d been robbed. The man said some of the pills in the bottle had been taken and that he then noticed a bedroom door, usually closed, was ajar. In the bedroom was a gun safe where the man said he kept his hydrocodone pills. The gun safe was unlocked and the man noticed that 20 of the hydrocodone pills were missing along with $200 in currency that had also been in the safe. The man suspected Broadbrooks had taken both the pills and the cash.

A week later, the man said he placed locks on several points of entry around the cabin in an attempt to prevent more illegal entry. The man said that he left his cabin on December 20, 2016 for a doctor’s appointment he had in Minneapolis, Minnesota on the 22nd. Before departing on the trip, the man set up a game camera inside his cabin. When he returned home from his appointments, he reviewed the game camera and saw Broadbrooks enter the cabin, without permission, on December 21. The man said that it didn't appear that Broadbrooks had forced entry into his cabin, but figured he must've picked the lock instead. The court records do not indicate anything was stolen from the cabin on the 21st.

On New Year's Day, 2017, the man was on Nelson Reservoir fishing. When he returned to his cabin, he again checked the game camera. The pictures in the camera once again showed Broadbrooks entering the cabin and going to were the hydrocodone pills were located. The man then called the Phillips County Sheriff's office to file a report.

The next day, the Phillips County Sheriff's Deputy contacted Broadbrooks in order to conduct an interview. Broadbrooks came to the Phillips County Sheriff's office and waived his Miranda rights before admitting to the burglaries and thefts. Broadbrooks admitted that it was him in the pictures taken by the game camera adding that he gained access to the cabin by picking the lock using a credit card. Broadbrooks admitted to stealing hydrocodone pills from the cabin on three separate occasions.

A person convicted of the offense of felony burglary shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a term not to exceed 20 years, or a fine not to exceed $50,000, or both.

A person convicted of the crime of misdemeanor theft shall be fined not to exceed $1,000 or be imprisoned in the county jail for a term not to exceed six months, or both.

A person convicted of the crime of felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term of not more than five years, or fined not more than $50,000, or both.