Altoona man gets probation for stalking, car stripping

May 14—EAU CLAIRE — An Altoona man will spend two years on probation for stalking his ex-wife and in connection with a case where a car was stripped at an Eau Claire dealership and the parts were used on a similar vehicle.

Ryan A. Peterson, 31, 704 Harriet St., pleaded no contest this week in Eau Claire County Court to a felony count of stalking.

Charges related to the car stripping case were dismissed but considered by Judge Michael Schumacher at sentencing. Schumacher ordered Peterson to pay $3,413 in restitution in connection with the car stripping case.

As conditions of probation for the stalking case, Peterson cannot have contact with his ex-wife. He must also maintain absolute sobriety and undergo any recommended programming or treatment. He was fined $617 for that case.

Peterson's co-defendant in the car stripping case, Adam D. Gifford, 31, of Elk Mound, was previously sentenced.

According to the criminal complaint in the car stripping case:

An Eau Claire police officer was sent to Chilson Motors, 3443 Highway 93, on Feb. 5, 2019, because a car on the lot — a white 2017 Subaru Legacy — had been stripped of its parts.

The car was stripped between 7 p.m. on Feb. 4, 2019, and 8 a.m. on Feb. 5, 2019. The vehicle was missing a hood, front bumper, two front headlights, a grill, radiator, air conditioner condenser, two cooling fans and an air cleaner box.

An employee of Trubilt Collision Center went to Chilson Motors to give an estimate of the repairs. Parts and labor to fix the stripped vehicle cost $10,445.

The Trubilt employee at the same time told police he received a call from a man named Ryan, who asked for a price quote regarding painting fenders, a front bumper and a hood to a white color.

Ryan told the Trubilt employee he would also provide new engine parts and that the vehicle he was asking for a quote for was a 2017 Subaru Legacy.

Police got the phone number for Ryan and determined the call came from Peterson.

Surveillance video from Chilson Motors showed an individual arriving in a pickup truck and worked on a vehicle for 47 minutes. The person could be seen removing the hood. The video could not lead to a description of the person.

Police went to Peterson's residence and found a pickup truck parked in the driveway that was similar to the truck seen in the Chilson Motors surveillance video.

Police executed a search warrant at Peterson's residence. Inside the garage they found stolen vehicle parts from a 2017 Subaru Legacy and a gun that was stolen in 2013 from Barron County. The parts were matched to the Chilson Motors vehicle.

A white Subaru Legacy was found inside the garage, and several parts had been removed. Peterson told police a month earlier he bought a salvage title Subaru Legacy from a dealership in Minnesota. Peterson said Gifford came to his house to look at the car and help him fix it up.

Two weeks later, Peterson said Gifford brought parts from a Subaru Legacy to his house and sold them to him for $1,000.

Peterson admitted he "had a feeling" they were stolen. Peterson claimed Gifford never told him how or where he got the parts. Peterson said he and Gifford went to car lots in Eau Claire to get an idea of how much money he could invest in repairing the car he bought.

Peterson said he also got the gun from Gifford and didn't know it was stolen.

Gifford told police in March 2019 he sold vehicle parts to Peterson, which he got from another person. Gifford said he did not want to get that person in trouble.

According to the criminal complaint in the stalking case:

Peterson's ex-wife told police Peterson was threatening to harm her and tracking her movements through GPS from March 2017 through last August.