Local Man Arrested in Storage Facility Burglaries Raises Community Concerns

Authorities arrested 44 year old Joseph Coon of Waterflow on Nov. 6 in connection with several break ins at commercial and storage properties in the Farmington area. The new criminal complaint ties Coon to incidents at Jumbo Storage on Nov. 3 and Nov. 4, and charges include receiving stolen property, a fourth degree felony, criminal trespass as a misdemeanor, and criminal damage to property as a petty misdemeanor.

Investigators reported finding a range of items in Coon s blue Ford Ranger, including tools, tool boxes, RV parts, a hose and a North Face jacket valued at roughly five hundred dollars. The affidavit filed in the case estimates about one thousand seventy three dollars in stolen property was identified among those items. Coon was booked into the San Juan County Detention Center and released on Nov. 7. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Nov. 12 in Farmington Magistrate Court.

Court records show Coon has a lengthy criminal history in the region, including a prior commercial burglary conviction in 2010, a larceny conviction in 2017, a 2020 guilty plea to receiving a stolen motor vehicle that carried an 18 month Department of Corrections term, and a 2021 sentence that included probation which he later admitted violating. Those prior convictions underscore the challenges courts and law enforcement face when addressing repeat property crime in the county.

For residents who store seasonal equipment, tools or personal items in rental units, the arrest is a stark reminder of vulnerability and the economic and emotional toll of theft. Even when stolen items are recovered, owners must usually navigate claims processes and potential loss of irreplaceable belongings. Small businesses that operate with thin margins can be hit disproportionately by theft of tools and parts that disrupt operations and repair cycles.

Beyond immediate security measures, the case points to systemic pressures that contribute to property crime. San Juan County, like many rural communities, contends with gaps in behavioral health care, substance use treatment, stable housing and reentry supports for people completing incarceration. Public safety strategies that focus solely on arrest and incarceration can leave those underlying needs unaddressed, increasing the risk of repeat offenses and straining community resources.

Local policymakers and service providers will likely weigh responses that combine improved physical security at storage facilities with investments in diversion programs, treatment access and reentry services aimed at reducing recidivism. The preliminary hearing in Farmington Magistrate Court will determine how prosecutors proceed, and the outcome may prompt renewed discussion among residents, law enforcement and social service agencies about preventing property crime while addressing the contributors behind it.