Over $1M of Stolen Goods Found in Katy Home

KATY MAGAZINE NEWS

October 29, 2020

By Natalie Cook Clark

Yesterday, a Katy man was arrested on drug charges. However, the million-dollars-worth of stolen goods authorities found in his Nottingham Country home could lead to more charges.

Photo credit: Harris County Precinct 5

Katy Man Arrested On Drug Charges

Steven Lane Skarritt, 62, was arrested on felony charges of drug possession and delivery Wednesday. But authorities have uncovered more to this local crime story.

Stolen Goods Found in Katy From Colorado

A tool manufacturer in Colorado alerted authorities when they noticed their tools were being sold online, specifically via Amazon. The Department of Public Safety traced the stolen goods to Katy.

Harris County Precinct 5 deputies, working with the Texas DPS, executed a search warrant in the 1500 block of Hoveden Drive on Wednesday, October 28. Inside the Nottingham Country home, deputies found boxed power tools, tool sets and other bulk items.

“It is believed that many of these items were stolen from stores like a Colorado Home Depot but some items were purchased on sale and then being sold on an Amazon store at markup,” says Robert Henslee, Media Relations with Precinct 5. “Home Depot representatives are now in the process of running each item. We will get an exact number of stolen merchandise but it is estimated to be over a million.”

The house was organized with floor-to-ceiling shelves to hold all of the goods. An elevator was even installed to move items between the levels of the house.

“There was a little living room space, a place for him to sleep, and place to cook, but the rest of it is storage for stolen merchandise of all kinds,” says Constable Heap.

“We do not believe at this time that items were stolen from local stores,” says Henslee.

"They would take the stuff and just walk out with it," said Constable Ted Heap. "Think of the amount of money that is being lost by these companies on this organized retail crime? When that happens, the loss has to be passed on somewhere, and it's being passed on to us, the consumer, in escalated prices that we have to pay for the merchandise because of this."

A large amount of crystal meth, hydrocodone, marijuana, and cash were also found inside the home.

More Charges Expected

Skarritt has a previous record for drug dealing and was charged in 2008. He is the homeowner of the Hoveden Drive residence.

A second man was charged this afternoon. Brandon Rose, 25, of Denver, Colorado was arrested yesterday on felony theft charge, possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute and unlawfully carrying a weapon.

Both Skarritt and Rose are being held in the Harris County Jail.

Investigators are still looking into who is responsible for the theft and resale of the merchandise. Further charges are expected.