BILLINGS — A Lockwood RV owner is offering a $20,000 reward to help find a trailer stolen from his lot in June, hauled by a stolen truck.
Dustin Bretz, vice president of operations at Bretz RV & Marine, says the man he believes committed the crime has a years-long history of theft from businesses in the area.
“He worked a number of people in this store as well as other folks in the community,” Bretz said Tuesday.
Watch Dustin Bretz talk about how they are going to get their trailer back:
On June 28, a 2025 Brinkley Z Air 310 travel trailer left Bretz lot.
According to Bretz, a man whom he identified as Jonathan Shane Roberts provided a bad check for the trailer.
“We realized that these checks were returned from our bank as fraudulent checks,” Bretz said.
Bretz highlighted the creativity of the fraudulent check.
“These checks are very well done, as we've shared these with law enforcement and now the FBI,” Bretz said.
Tim Ferch, another victim of this heist, says that he rented his town home to the same man Bretz believes stole the trailer.
Ferch says he left a box full of information behind.
“It's almost like he had a last trip for all of his most important papers and then drove away without them,” Ferch said.
Bretz noted that some of the information dates to the 1980s.
“There's a file box with the initial pardons from judges in Louisiana in 1988 and in 1993, which I have to believe started the track record of a career criminal,” Bretz said.
Yellowstone County Sheriff Mike Linder said authorities are still gathering evidence in this ongoing case. Linder did not name a suspect and would not confirm whether Roberts is involved.
Meanwhile, Bretz is conducting his own investigation and turning to social media for assistance.
He is actively seeking help to locate the stolen truck and trailer.
“We'll continue to fly the areas around Montana to make sure that as those tips come in that we can recover the trailer and truck as quickly as possible,” Bretz said.
