An Idaho Falls man is facing multiple felony charges after investigators say he broke into a storage unit on North Yellowstone Highway and made off with gold and silver bars, an expensive watch, and a wedding ring — with the alleged theft discovered the evening of Sunday, June 14.
Colton Adams Christensen, 35, was booked into the Bonneville County Jail on Wednesday after an arrest warrant was issued the day before. He faces one count of felony grand theft tied to the storage unit incident, along with additional charges in two separate cases that include another felony grand theft count and a misdemeanor charge for using a telecommunications device to annoy, harass, or intimidate.
How Investigators Say the Theft Was Uncovered
A woman contacted the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office on her father’s behalf after he became suspicious that items were missing from his storage unit. The woman told deputies that Christensen had known the unit’s previous lock combination, though he had no legitimate reason to know the updated code.
Perhaps most damaging to Christensen’s position: the woman told investigators she had a recording of Christensen admitting he had taken items from the unit and sold them at pawn shops. On that recording, Christensen can be heard saying, “You got me spun, bud,” and later warning, “Let me tell you something, if you f****** end up reporting all this I will go to prison the rest of my life.”
The storage unit’s owner also suspected Christensen may have stolen ammunition from the space. The value of the stolen property — which included gold and silver bars along with the watch and wedding ring — is estimated somewhere between $10,000 and $20,000.
Second Theft Alleged Against Same Suspect
The storage unit case was not the only alleged theft brought to investigators’ attention. The woman who filed the original report also told deputies that Christensen had stolen her personal jewelry while she lived with him. She estimated the value of her missing items at between $10,000 and $15,000, bringing the combined alleged theft figure to potentially well over $30,000.
Those additional allegations appear to have contributed to the separate felony grand theft count Christensen now faces outside of the storage unit case.
Charges, Bail, and What Comes Next
Christensen was booked on a $20,000 bond. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for June 30 in Bonneville County. If convicted on the charges as filed, he could face up to 14 years in prison.
The case highlights how storage unit crimes — often involving items of significant sentimental and financial value — can carry serious legal consequences under Idaho law when the value of stolen property meets the felony grand theft threshold. Gold, silver, and collectibles stored in private units are frequent targets for theft precisely because they are portable and can be quickly converted to cash at pawn shops.
Investigators have not yet released details on whether pawn shops in the area have been contacted or whether any of the stolen property has been recovered.
Christensen is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office has not issued additional statements beyond the charges filed.
Residents with storage units on North Yellowstone Highway or elsewhere in the Idaho Falls area are encouraged to verify that lock combinations have been changed after any change in access — and to document high-value items stored off-site with photographs and serial numbers where available.
For other recent public safety developments in the region, including an ongoing investigation into the death of a woman found at an Idaho Falls park and a multi-vehicle crash on I-15 near Fort Hall that sent two people to the hospital, see additional coverage from Bonneville County News.