From Chelsea Phua:
A 27-year-old Somerset man was arrested on suspicion of grand theft after authorities discovered tools belonging to his employer at his residence, according to an El Dorado County Sheriff's department report.
Authorities said Bret Michael Chesson has been stealing work tools from his employer, 72-year-old Robert Bryant. Chesson was employed to build a house for Bryant on Blue Mountain Drive in Grizzly Flats. Since hiring Chesson in early April, Bryant said several of his tools have gone missing.
Bryant told authorities last Saturday that a new battery-power "Makita" impact drill he had just ordered went missing. He last saw it earlier that day sitting on the floor of his living room near the door, Bryant said in the report.
He also told authorities about other missing tools: a circular saw, a porter cable plunge router and four framing hammers, one which cost more than $100. Bryant estimated about $900 worth of missing tools.
Authorities said Chesson was on searchable probation. Later that night, a deputy visited Chesson's residence on Artic Lane in Somerset. No one answered the door, but the deputy said he spotted a UPS shipping box sitting beside a garbage can at the front of the driveway.
A sticker on the box read "Makita" and another sticker identified its contents as an impact drill. A shipping label on the box was addressed to Robert Bryant at the Blue Mountain Drive address.
When authorities returned the next day to Chesson's residence, they found other tools fitting the descriptions of Bryant's lost items, the report stated.
Chesson's girlfriend told deputies she was shocked that Chesson wouldn't steal anything, because he had never been a thief.
Chesson later told authorities that he had signed for the drill from UPS and "forgot" to leave it at Bryant's place when he left at the end of the day.
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