Man Denies Breaking Into Laramie Storage Units

A man accused of working with at least one other person to steal from storage units in Laramie denied a felony charge Wednesday in Albany County District Court.

Daniel Silva, 30, pleaded not guilty on one count of burglary. He could spend up to 10 years in prison and have to pay a $10,000 fine if convicted.

Court documents say Silva told Albany County Sheriff's deputies that he and another man, Christopher Mauk, broke into and took property from at least four storage units at B&H Secure Storage. According to the affidavit, Silva said they would store the stolen property at his house before selling it to pawn shops.

In fact, that's part of how deputies learned who was allegedly involved in the burglaries. While investigating a burglary at B&H reported by a victim who checked on his storage unit Nov. 30, deputies spoke to the manager of Mister Money pawn shop who said Mauk and Silva were two of four people who would come into the shop in a group to sell things, according to the affidavit.

Court documents say an air compressor and Kawasaki generator sold to the shop on Nov. 14 matched the description of items reported missing from B&H.

The affidavit also says a deputy who was watching Silva's house the night of Dec. 1 saw Silva take things from inside the residence and load them into the back of his truck. According to the affidavit, deputies discovered Silva dumped those items -- some of which matched the description of items missing from storage units at B&H -- in an effort to conceal evidence.

Judge Jeffrey Donnell set Silva's trial for Nov. 14-15. Silva remains free on $10,000 signature bond.