Plover police arrest two teens for burglary, arson

By Brandi Makuski

Plover police have arrested two teenagers in connection with a dumpster fire and two gas station burglaries in the village.

Capt. Gary Widder said the two teenagers, both 17-year-old residents of the village, were arrested the morning of Sept. 18. Their identities are being withheld until a determination is made whether to charge the two as adults, he said, which is expected.

Widder said police were called in the early morning hours of Sept. 15 to Plover Express Mart, 2621 Plover Rd., after a caller reported someone forced their way into the business and took about $1,000 worth of merchandise.

A short time later that morning, he said, a dumpster fire was reported on the 2400 block of Plover Rd., near the offices of Heartland Custom Homes and WIFC. The fire was extinguished by the Plover Fire Department, he said, and no injuries were reported.

“Initial on-scene investigation indicated that this fire was believed to have been intentionally started,” Widder said in a news release.

The teens allegedly returned to Plover Express Mart again in the early-morning hours of Sept. 17, again forcing their way into the business and taking approximately $1,000 in merchandise.

The teenagers were arrested at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Widder said, but did not release additional details.

Pending charges include burglary, arson, damage to property and theft.

The investigation is ongoing, Widder said, and asks anyone with additional information about this crime to contact the department at (715) 345-5255.