Two Kalona men have been arrested in connection to a string of burglaries. 18 year old Aaron Mikel Bender and 18 year old Dillon Michael Whetstine were arrested Monday night and have been charged with two counts of 3rd degree burglary and one count of theft of a motor vehicle.
According to Washington County Sheriff, Jerry Dunbar, there have been five reported burglaries in the Kalona area in the last month. The first occurred on the 13th, two more before the 25th and two on the 25th. Dunbar says the suspects burglarized businesses and a church, mostly stealing cash. Dunbar says that they’ll be doing more interviews to determine if they were involved in the other burglaries. The two are also connected to attempted burglaries and an auto theft in Dallas County.
Bond has been set for Whetstine and Bender at $100,000. Bender received an additional $50,000 bond for violation of probation. Bender and Whetstine were convicted of burglary and given probation last month. Whetstine’s probation violation resulted in an additional $7,500 bond. A hold has been placed on both of them for Dallas County, where their bond has been set at $20,000.