Man accused of stealing vehicle after crawling through hole used for office air conditioner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boonville man was charged on Friday with a pair of felonies after authorities claim he broke into a building by crawling through a hole that housed an office air conditioning unit.

Joshua Allen Kautzman was charged with second-degree burglary and first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle. A warrant was issued and a $25,000 bond was set. He is not listed on the Cooper County Jail’s roster, but court documents say he was detained in Illinois.

The probable cause statement says an employee of a business – whose identity was redacted, but court documents say is located in the 1400 block of West Ashley Road -- reported a white Chevrolet 1500 was stolen when they arrived to work on Thursday, May 21.

The statement says the employee found an air conditioning unit on the floor of the main office. They reviewed video and saw the unit fell around 9:25 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20, court documents allege. Kautzman was allegedly seen crawling through the hole into the business at 5:37 a.m.

The Chevrolet was found at 7:24 a.m. Friday in Benton, Illinois, the statement says. Kautzman allegedly admitted to pushing in the air conditioning unit, entering the business, taking keys and stealing the vehicle, court documents say.