A 21-year-old Emmett man who shot and badly injured an Eagle Police officer Monday is now charged in connection with two home break-ins – and is a suspect in several others.
Matthew S. Kelly and his father, 56-year-old Kevin H. Kelly, are charged with two felony counts of burglary each for breaking into two homes along Beacon Light Road during the 4th of July weekend.
Both homes were relatively isolated in the rural area north of Star and Eagle. The Kellly’s forced their way into both homes and stole items from inside sometime in the early morning hours of July 4.
One of the homes, located near the Linder/Beacon Light roads neighborhood, was unoccupied at the time. The other was at a home in the Idaho 16/Beacon Light Road neighborhood.
In that case, a resident of the home woke up to find a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt and headlamp with a red bulb standing over the bed just before 5 a.m. July 4.
The resident told Ada County Sheriff’s Deputies she yelled and startled the man, who ran into the back of the home, where another burglar was, before they both left.
Moments later, the resident said the men kicked in the front door and came inside, but quickly left when another person in the home woke up and yelled at them. The two men – later identified as Matthew and Kevin Kelly — left while the residents called 911.
The two residents in the home were not injured during the break-in. While many drawers and cabinets were rifled through and some items thrown about, it appears the only items stolen from inside was a laptop computer and some jewelry. It also appears the burglars got in through a pet door.
The residents of the home told detectives they had no idea why their home was targeted by thieves, as they do not have a significant amount of cash or jewelry or any other similar high value items in their home.
Investigators say the Kellys broke into a different home in the Beacon Light/Linder roads neighborhood the morning of July 4 by kicking a side garage door in.
The thieves ransacked the house and stole guns, cash, jewelry, tools, and other items. The residents of that home were out of town at the time of the break-in. The break-in was discovered later in the day by a neighbor.
Detectives had developed evidence and identified the Kellys as persons of interest in the break-ins by Monday when Matthew Kelly stole a motorcycle from a home in Canyon County.
That decision led to a series of events where Matthew Kelly shot and injured an Eagle Police officer at the end of a brief vehicle pursuit.
It was while Matthew Kelly was hiding in a corn field near Beacon Light Road to avoid arrest after the shooting when an ACSO deputy found Kevin Kelly riding a motorcycle in the same area.
The deputy took Kevin Kelly into custody, which led to Matthew Kelley eventually surrendering.
Investigators suspect the Kellys are involved in other home burglaries in western Ada County. Additional criminal charges are likely for both men.
Anyone with information on either case should send an email to [email protected]