Police: Great Falls man used U-Haul truck to burglarize home

According to court documents, one man was helping another move out of his house last July and noticed something odd. He didn't remember the second man serving in the military, but there was a wall in the home with military medals hanging in a frame.

So the first man left, as he later told police, while a few others continued to help move some belongings from the house until about $40,000-worth of items were placed in a U-Haul parked out front and driven away. The whole effort required the movers to take two trips, one witness recounted.

But it wasn't the second man's house, according to police reports. The man, identified in court records as 36-year-old Patrick Joseph Adams Jr., is now accused of burglarizing the home with the unknowing help of two other men and his girlfriend. 

Later that night in July, the true homeowner called 9-1-1 to report his house had been burglarized. Great Falls Police spoke with witnesses in the neighborhood who said they saw a U-Haul and a dark-colored SUV arrive at the house earlier that day and unload things from the home into the U-Haul. 

Officers checked with the Great Falls U-Haul office and found a man, named in court documents as RP, had rented the vehicle that day. Officers spoke with RP, who said he owed "Mike" or "Big Mike," who was later identified as Adams, a favor, so he agreed to rent the U-Haul because Adams didn't have a valid driver's license. 

The officer was also able to identify the driver of the dark SUV: a man named in court documents as NW. This man told the officer Adams had asked him for help moving items out of "his" house, the address of which is redacted in police reports.

NW said he, RP and Adams' girlfriend, Chantelle Beal, helped Adams moved things out of house. He said it was strange to see the wall of military medals on the wall because he thought Adams would have previously mentioned his time in the service. He also thought it was odd that Beal couldn't seem to find her way to the basement of the home while they were moving things out. With the strange things adding up to something suspicious, NW told police he left the residence. 

According to the police report, the officer did not want to request a warrant for Adams in July because he knew Adams was on probation at the time. The officer wanted to coordinate with the probation and parole office to get a search warrant for Adams' home, where the officer hoped to recover some of the allegedly stolen items. He instead tried to meet with Adams at the probation office on Sept. 25, but Adams didn't show. 

Adams was charged Thursday with burglary and criminal mischief, both felonies. If convicted, he faces a possible 30-year prison sentence and a maximum $100,000 fine. At his initial appearance in district court on Thursday, Judge Elizabeth Best set Adams' bail at $50,000 and required him to wear GPS monitoring if he is able to post bond. 

According to state records, Adams was convicted in 2016 of carrying a concealed weapon and in 2010 of criminal possession of dangerous drugs; both were in Cascade County. Also in 2010, he was convicted of forgery in Toole County. 

No charges have been filed against Beal in district court.