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Lakewood family wants justice after stolen motor home they depend on located in shambles

Stolen RV from Lakewood man says thieves turned it into meth lab
Stolen RV from Lakewood man says thieves turned it into meth lab 02:27

A family in Lakewood is happy to have their Tiffin motor home back in their garage, but they want justice as Lakewood police filed charges against a man on Friday morning.

Jeff Sondrup, the owner of the RV, says his motor home was found on Monday at Storelocal Storage Co-Op in Englewood. 

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Sondrup told CBS News Colorado reporter Jasmine Arenas that the stolen RV was driven across town. 

First, it was in Park County. Then, it was in a vacant parking lot in Sheridan before arriving at that facility. The storage place is just 10 minutes away from the family's home.

A person who owns the storage place thought it was strange the RV had no license plates and called the police. Now, the family wants the suspect charged to be held accountable.

Sondrup says they got their RV back, but it was trashed and even found needles, along with propane tanks inside. This led them to do an at-home meth test, but fortunately, it came back negative.

Now, the family will be without their RV all summer, which led to them canceling their travel plans.

"It's been a tough week," Sondrup said. "This is our baby, our second home. We travel on this six months out of the year. We won't be traveling anymore."

Sondrup added he is extremely claustrophobic, and flying isn't an option for them.

The Sondrup family told us they do have insurance, but the emotional toll this has taken on them has no price.

The repairs will cost up to $60,000.

Lakewood Police Department says charges were filed against 40-year-old James McDonald on Friday morning. He is reportedly in Jefferson County Jail stemming from other charges.

He is currently being charged with Second-degree burglary and First-degree motor vehicle theft, according to authorities. 

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