A Hastings man can be seen in a photo taking one of the trail cameras missing from a Helen Township property where a shed was broken into, according to charges.
Joshua Anthony Saldana, 43, faces three charges: third-degree burglary, theft and fourth-degree property damage.
According to the complaint, a McLeod County sheriff’s deputy responded to a reported burglary at a property in Helen Township on or about May 16, 2026. The victim told the deputy that someone had broken into a shed on the property between the evening of May 14 and the morning of May 15 and taken items.
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The victim said he had set up three trail cameras but one was missing, and he believed the burglars had found and smashed them and taken the SD cards. He could not find any of the SD cards. He provided a list of stolen items including three trail cameras, a miter saw, an ice auger, hinges and batteries.
The deputy observed that the shed door had been broken off its hinges. The complaint puts the stolen items at $921, the cost to replace or fix the door at an estimated $150 and the broken hinges at $30, for a total loss of $1,101. The complaint states that a McLeod County detective got a call from an investigator with the Sibley County Sheriff’s Office, who reported that office had arrested Saldana. He was found driving a Ford Expedition registered to him, the complaint says.
The Sibley County investigator found two SD cards in Saldana’s vehicle, and Saldana also had a miter saw and a trail camera in the vehicle. The SD cards held pictures of two detectives at an abandoned farm site, and one of the detectives viewed the photos and determined they showed him at the victim’s property. There was also a still photograph of Saldana and his vehicle, and Saldana could be seen in one of the photographs taking one of the missing trail cameras on the victim’s property, according to the complaint. The victim later identified the recovered miter saw as his, the complaint says.
Saldana told a McLeod County detective he had a list of things he could do his best to return and that he didn’t have qualms with trying to restore property, the complaint says.
The third-degree burglary charge alleges Saldana, directly or as an accomplice, entered a building without consent intending to steal or commit a felony or gross misdemeanor, or entered without consent and stole or committed a felony or gross misdemeanor while inside. The theft charge accuses him of taking property without the owner’s consent, and the property damage charge alleges he intentionally damaged another person’s property without that person’s consent.
The charges were filed September 30 in McLeod County District Court.
