Bryan Kohberger was charged with misdemeanor theft in 2014 according to the report, but later had that charge expunged from his record.
Police arrested Bryan Kohberger in 2014 after he stole his sister's cellphone and sold it for cash, according to a new report.
ABC News reports that Kohberger's father, Michael Kohberger, reported his son to police after the incident.
The elder Kohberger told police that his son "recently exited a rehab center and rejoined the family," according to a copy of the arrest record seen by ABC News.
The records also say that Kohbeger then sold the phone for $200 at a mall kiosk.
Kohberger was charged with misdemeanor theft according to the report, but later had that charge expunged from his record.
That is because of an " Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition" program that is offered to first-time offenders in Monroe County. Instead of choosing between a trial on all charges or pleading guilty to one or more of the charges, the prosecutor offers to drop the charges after the individual completes the probationary period which may include the payment of restitution.
The Monroe County prosecutor's office and the Kohberger family's attorney Martin Souto Diaz both declined to comment.
ABC News also reports that Kohberger's father made reference to his son's drug battle when he spoke to authorities.
Prosecutors announced last month that they would be seeking the death penalty should Kohberger be convicted at trial. Kohberger has not yet offered an alibi and stood silent when asked to enter a plea in the case back in May. The judge overseeing the proceedings entered a not guilty plea on Kohberger's behalf.
The case has received national attention ever since the bodies of four University of Idaho students were found dead in a house just off the school’s Moscow campus in November.
Interest in the case only grew during the six weeks it took police to finally make an arrest.
Kohberger was eventually apprehended in the early morning hours of Dec. 30 at his childhood home in Pennsylvania.
A probable cause affidavit said that his arrest came just days after investigators matched DNA found in trash pulled from Kohberger’s home to DNA found on a knife sheath discovered at the murder scene, utilizing genetic genealogy.
Once in custody, Kohberger provided a buccal swab that proved to be a direct match to the DNA on that sheath.
Authorities have yet to find the weapon that killed those students: Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20.
Kohberger had previously told the public defender assigned to handle his extradition from Pennsylvania to Idaho that he expects to be exonerated of all charges at trial.
All parties involved in the investigation and trial are unable to comment due to a strict and sweeping nondissemination order that continues to be in effect.
Related Stories
