Defendant to plead guilty in crime spree

MINERAL COUNTY – The culprit of a six-year long crime spree in Mineral County that culminated in the 2014 armed robbery of the Travel Center in St. Regis was expected to plead guilty this week to multiple felony counts with a sentence recommendation of 30 years in jail with 20 of those suspended.

According to information supplied by Mineral County Attorney Marcia Boris, Jay Eggers was originally charged with 21 counts of robbery, burglary and deceptive practices among other charges. According to an affidavit, the beginning of the end of the crime spree came in late 2013 in Superior.

On December 15, 2013 Deputy Tony Lapinski responded to a reported burglary at a residence in Superior. When the resident returned home at approximately 8:30 p.m. that evening, they discovered their front door had been kicked in and items were missing from the residence. What jump started the investigation and eventually led to Eggers’ arrest was something Lapinski noticed near the scene in the snow.

What Lapinski noticed was a footprint. And he would notice a similar footprint at another location just a few days later. This time, the Four Aces Bar in Superior was the scene of a crime.

On Dec. 21, 2013, Lapinski was dispatched to the establishment in Superior after owners said they received a call from their security company that motion detectors were activated after hours. Lapinski and one of the owners went to the rear of the location where they discovered the phone lines had been forcibly removed from the service box. This disabled the landline to the Four Aces but Lapinski was informed that the alarm was on a different line.

Lapinski was shown where the suspect gained entry to the establishment through a window in between the bar and the adjacent Napa Auto Parts store. It was in that vicinity that Lapinski observed footprints that appeared to be similar to the one at the previous burglary.

According to the affidavit, the deputy took photographs of the print and found it to be the same length from heel to toe and a similar pattern to the other print. On February 20, 2014 a search warrant was executed at the residence of Eggers.

During the execution of the search warrant, investigators were able to seize footwear that apparently matched the footprints found at the two crime scenes.

The affidavit stated that Lapinski “recognized the sole as the same kind as he had photographed and measured impressions of at two recent burglary scenes.”

On Dec. 19 at approximately 6:19 a.m., the Mineral County Sheriff’s office received a report another report of a break in at a Mineral County residence.

The resident reported someone entered her home through an unlocked back door and had stolen a laptop computer, tablet computer, computer cords and a purse containing cash, credit cards and checks.

The resident told the responding officer she had already contacted her financial institutions and made them aware of the theft.

She informed investigators that she had been informed by one of these institutions that seven attempts had been made already to use her ATM card.

Surveillance video was requested by investigators but it failed to show the face of the individual attempting to make a transaction. The video did however show what type of clothing the individual was wearing.

That evening, more attempts were made to use the stolen cards. At the Missoula Super Walmart at the corner of Reserve Street and Mullan Road, the suspect made several attempts to pay for items with stolen cards. The attempts were unsuccessful as the cards were declined.

Store surveillance footage showed a vehicle matching the description of one registered to a Kristie Eggers, Jay Eggers’ wife, entering the Walmart parking lot.

At around 4:49 p.m., an individual identified as Jay Eggers entered the store with his wife and a small child.

According to the affidavit, Kristie Eggers was wearing clothing that appeared “to be too large for her” and also appeared to match clothing seen on the ATM surveillance footage.

The affidavit further stated Eggers was successful this time in purchasing merchandise with a stolen card and was seen leaving the store with said merchandise.

Later the same night at approximately 7:52 p.m., Eggers was again seen entering the Walmart this time unaccompanied.

He attempted to purchase over $600 using a stolen card but it was declined. The affidavit stated, “Eggers began to appear nervous, shuffling his feet from front to back and side to side in an odd manner as he waited to swipe the card.”

On Feb. 20, law enforcement authorities executed another search warrant at the Eggers’ residence where located a gray wig worn by Kristie Eggers into the Walmart. They did not locate any of the merchandise purchased at the store.

The last crime attributed to Eggers occurred in the early morning hours of Jan. 17, 2014 when at approximately 2:46 a.m. Deputy Robert Larson was dispatched to the Travel Center in St. Regis after an armed robbery was reported by an employee.

The cashier reported she was robbed at gunpoint by a suspect described as, “male, tall and skinny, wearing a black coat, blue hoodie, black mask and black pants.”

The employee stated she was reading a newspaper when the suspect entered the business and demanded money while pointing a gun at her.

She obliged the suspect, handing over money from the register and a cash box. The suspect left on foot heading west past the casino.

When Lapinski arrived on the scene, there was no sign of the suspect. As he was reviewing surveillance footage and interviewing witnesses, Lapinski noticed a vehicle he recognized as belonging to Eggers enter the north parking lot of the Travel center and leave shortly after.

On January 18, 2014 Lapinski was approached by Eggers in the MCSO parking lot.

According to the affidavit, Eggers stated he had heard he was a suspect in the robbery of the Travel Center and attempted to implicate another individual in the crime.

After further investigation by authorities, Eggers was arrested and charged with a number of felonies stemming from the events in Superior, Missoula and St. Regis. According to County Attorney Marcia Boris, Eggers was scheduled to appear Monday, April 6.

The sentencing recommendation was Montana State Prison.