By John Estridge
A Decatur County man has been charged with Burglary, as a Level 4 Felony, after police said he broke into a Franklin County home and stole guns among other property.
Harold A. Powers, 41, Greensburg, was charged Thursday, November 5.
According to an Affidavit for Probable Cause filed by Indiana State Police Trooper Jared Black, on Wednesday, October 28, Black learned of the burglary in a Franklin County home. He talked to the home owners and discovered four firearms had been stolen from a safe in their basement while the couple was away from home.
The safe appeared to have been pried open by something that left yellow paint chips.
Black learned Powers was a suspect in other crimes in nearby counties. Rush County detectives had placed a GPS device on Powers’ vehicle. Information from the GPS device showed Powers’ vehicle had been to the victims’ residence on the day of the burglary. After leaving the residence, the vehicle was tracked to a garage in Greensburg.
On Friday, October 30, officers from multiple area police agencies served a search warrant on a garage in Greensburg. The warrant had been authorized in an unrelated investigation.
Among the items found were the four firearms reportedly stolen from the Franklin County residence along with other items that had been reported stolen.
Black then received a search warrant for Powers’ vehicle and found a yellow pry bar that matched the paint chips left on the victims’ safe.
Powers was then located at the Shelbyville casino and was arrested.
Under questioning from Black, Powers admitted being at the victims’ residence, but said he was there to seek permission to hunt on their property. If convicted of a Level 4 Felony, Powers could receive a sentence from two to 12 years in prison.
It appears this is not his first rodeo…https://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/06230801cjb.pdf