Man Accused of Huffing Freon From Neighbors' AC Units Pleads Guilty to Theft

The Apple Valley man charged last fall after police say he inhaled almost $1,800 worth of Freon from the air conditioning systems of five of his neighbors pleaded guilty on Tuesday to the felony charge.

Sentencing for Brentyn Edwin Krueger, 37, is scheduled for June 22. The maximum penalty would be five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, homeowners in the area of 129th Street West and Floral Avenue called on Nov. 7, 2010, to report a trespasser on their property.

When police arrived, they allegedly found Krueger slumped over the home’s air conditioning unit, with his torso lodged between the unit and the house. Although he was initially unresponsive and appeared to be unconscious, police say he “quickly became lucid” after he regained consciousness, and told them that he had been inhaling Freon from the air conditioning unit.

Just before 9 p.m. the next night, another resident in the same area called police to report a trespasser. Police again found Krueger, who told them he had inhaled Freon from that air conditioning unit, and that he became confused and walked into the home when he thought police were coming.

On Nov. 9, another homeowner in the neighborhood called police and reported that her air conditioning unit wasn’t operating properly. She said a man had been found lying in the yard between her home and her neighbor’s home on Oct. 22 and had been taken away by ambulance.

Police interviewed Krueger on Nov. 12, after he was released from the hospital. He allegedly told officers that he had been huffing Freon from the air conditioning units of four of his neighbors.

On Nov. 20, police were called to the same neighborhood, where they found Krueger lying on the ground between a home’s air conditioning unit and the house. He was taken to a hospital.

Police asked the homeowners to determine how much Freon had been lost and how much it had cost to replace it. The overall loss to the five victims was $1,784, according to the complaint.