Man charged with stealing from Green Bay U-Haul unit, falsely says items were at his parents

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – A man from Algoma is facing six charges after allegedly stealing items from a storage unit in Green Bay and was found with multiple bolt cutters, a broken lock, wire snips and other items.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by Local 5, on August 29 around 9:20 a.m., an officer with the Green Bay Police Department went to the U-Haul Rental on Main Street for a report of a break-in. A victim told authorities that he rents a storage unit and is the only eon with a key for the lock.

The victim said he puts large quantities of Milwaukee power tools in the unit and then sells them to make a profit. He said that on August 26 around 4 p.m. he finished a transaction, locked his unit, and left the facility.

He returned two days later and found that ‘numerous’ items were missing. He also found that the lock on the unit was not his and did not know who put it there.

The estimated value of the missing tools was about $3,000.

Police reviewed video surveillance and a suspect was identified. After contacting the believed suspect, he told police that he rented that unit to another man he knew as 40-year-old Jason Marit.

Marit reportedly had a previous incident on August 17 at the U-Haul storage facility where he told officers he fell asleep inside the bathroom of a locked facility. He had ‘suspicious’ tools and keys on him.

Officers eventually made contact with Marit on August 31. Marit admitted to being at the facility on August 26. At first, he said he had no idea what officers were talking about when the missing tools were brought up.

After getting shown photos from surveillance of him wheeling a bag, he reportedly started to ‘break down’. Marit allegedly pleaded many times with officers to give him a second chance.

He also said that he would return all the items. Marit told police that the items were at his mother’s house in Algoma.

There were also items inside the van, which Marit said were not stolen. When police looked inside the van, the following items were seen:

Multiple sets of bolt cutters
- One of which had ‘locks only’ written on it in permanent maker
A lock that had been cut
Wire snips
Vice grips
A piece of metal tool that looked as if it might have been used for prying objects

Authorities visited Marit’s parent’s house but did not find any stolen items. When contacted by police, Marit reportedly admitted to lying about the items being at his parent’s house.

Marit is charged with the following:

Burglary – Room
- Felony
- Up to 12 and a half years in prison
Felony Bail Jumping
- Felony
- Up to six years in prison
Felony Bail Jumping
- Felony
- Up to six years in prison
Felony Bail Jumping
- Felony
- Up to six years in prison
Possession of Burglarious Tools
- Felony
- Up to three and a half years in prison
Misdemeanor Theft
- Misdemeanor
- Up to nine months in prison