Duane Roy Blake, 49, Minot, is accused of stealing a 2012 Caterpillar Skidsteer valued at $48,000 in early 2017.

He is charged with a Class B felony in district court in Minot.

According to a probable caues affidavit filed with the court, the 2012 Caterpillar Skidsteer was reported stolen from a shop-condo east of Minot on March 9, 2017. The skidsteer had been stolen sometime between Jan. 17 and Feb. 14, 2017. The Minot Police Department had interviewed Blake in regard to multiple thefts in the area. Blake told the officers that he knew the stolen skidsteer was located in the Max or Plaza area. He also knew the location of the stolen pickup. The stolen pickup was recovered on March 16, 2017. Police interviewed Timothy Dornheim, who told them that Blake came to his shop condo with the stolen skidsteer and wanted to use Dornheim’s trailer to haul it. Dornheim told police he ordered Blake to leave and did not know where the skidsteer was.

Blake was interviewed by a North Dakota BCI agent in April 2019 about multiple thefts. Blake admitted to stealing the skidsteer two years earlier and said he sold it to a man living in the Douglas area. Authorities went to that address and recovered the stolen Caterpillar Skidsteer and impounded it. The man told police Blake had tried to sell the Skidsteer to him but he refused to buy it. The man said his old roommate bought the Skidsteer from Blake. The man denied knowing that the Skidsteer had been stolen and refused to identify his roommate. The man said the Skidsteer had been used to move snow and other items on his property near Douglas.