Rice Lake man appears in court on burglary charge

A Rice Lake man accused of burglary after police say he and a Menomonie woman broke into a storage unit and stole items appeared on Wednesday in Barron County Circuit Court.

Michael R. Melendez, 27, was charged on Feb. 14, 2023, with felony burglary and two misdemeanors of theft of movable property and criminal damage to property, all as parties to a crime.

An arrest warrant had been issued the same day charges were filed, but Melendez didn’t appear in court until Wednesday, when he appeared by video from the Eau Claire County Jail.

Judge Maureen Boyle set a cash bond at $500, and Melendez is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on May 15. A conviction of burglary of a building carries a maximum penalty of a $25,000 fine and 12½ years in prison.

Melendez’s co-defendant, Stephanie A. Forward, 48, pleaded guilty to felony burglary on Feb. 23, but two misdemeanors of theft of movable property and criminal damage to property were dismissed and read into the record.

Judge James C. Babler imposed and stayed a six-year prison sentence on Forward. Three years on probation subsequently was ordered, and she must pay restitution in the amount of $1,370, which she owes jointly with Melendez.

According to the criminal complaint, Forward told Investigator Chris Kowalczyk with the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Department that she and Melendez broke into and took items from a storage unit located on Cornell Avenue in Rice Lake.