2 arrested for at least 15 burglaries in storage units

NELSON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) – A Cedar Springs-area couple have been arrested for allegedly breaking into at least 15 storage units.

The couple, both 30, were arrested on Tuesday. Their names were not released by the Kent County Sheriff’s Department pending charges, but News 8 has learned they are Edward and Ashley Trout.

Criminal charges filed by Kent County Attorney Chris Becker include conducting a criminal enterprise, willful burglary and entry into a building, possession of a stolen financial transaction device (credit card), theft of a firearm and burglary of safes.

Detectives searched the Trout home on Oak Lane off Pine Lake Road south of 17 Mile Road in Nelson Township on Tuesday, according to the sheriff’s office. There, investigators said they found 40 guns and thousands of dollars worth of stolen property.

Detectives have been investigating burglaries at Kent County storage units since the burglaries began in August.

The sheriff’s department says it’s working to return stolen property to its owners and identify other victims.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Kent County Sheriff’s Department at 616.632.6125 or Silent Observer at 616.774.2345.

In June, Edward Trout was charged with multiple counts of poaching. He apparently told conservation officials at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources that he relieved stress by driving around at night and firing his gun from his pickup truck. The DNR accused him of poaching as many as 13 deer and several snapping turtles in northern Kent County. Court records show that on September 30, Edward Trout pleaded guilty to hunting without a license.

– Target 8 investigator Susan Samples contributed to this report.

– Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the day the couple was arrested. We regret the error that has been fixed.