Burglary charge added against sex offender

A 71-year-old Stateline man charged twice with failing to register as a sex offender is now suspected of burglarizing his neighbors' apartments.

Andrew Graham Warner pleaded not guilty Monday in district court to failure to register as a sex offender, a felony.

Prosecutor Laurie Trotter said Warner, in Douglas County Jail on $30,500 bail, had recently been charged with burglary and a second failure to register.

Records indicate he was convicted of indecent exposure in 2003 in Laguna Beach, Calif.

Deputies were called to a neighboring apartment July 24 in Warner's complex by a 51-year-old woman who found several paintings, statues, necklaces and other items in the suspect's apartment when she went up to invite him to the beach.

She had reported the items stolen the day before.

The woman said Warner invited her in and she saw several of her belongings in plain view on his balcony. When she inquired, he became confrontational and forced her from the apartment.

She called deputies from her place and kept an eye on his front door to make sure he didn't leave.

According to reports, Warner refused to answer the door when deputies knocked but they could hear him walking around inside and he occasionally looked at them from his window.

A resident of the apartment complex asked the deputy if he was there "because of Andy." He claimed Warner had been evicted from the local senior center "because he had been stealing stuff" from other residents.

Deputies obtained a search warrant, but Warner had barricaded the door. They entered through Warner's balcony which was connected to a neighbor's and discovered the suspect face-down on a bed in a back room. He resisted deputies but finally was placed in handcuffs.

The victim was escorted into Warner's residence by a deputy. She pointed to several items on the balcony which were hers as well as several large photos of her that were in his closet.

Deputies found a window screen in Warner's apartment that matched the screen removed from the victim's window they believe he used to gain entry to her place.

On July 26, deputies were contacted by another neighbor who said he had been missing a 1/4-inch corded skill saw he had loaned the suspect.

Another resident said he left his apartment unlocked for 10 minutes recently while he walked his dog. When he returned, $30 in groceries were missing from his kitchen.

The same man reported that Warner had given him gifts over the past few months that may be stolen including a patio table, a pair of ski boots and shirts from a ski resort.

Warner was set to appear Tuesday in Tahoe Justice Court.