Teens arrested in theft of deputy's gun
May 27—Two teens have been arrested in connection to the theft of a Boone County Sheriff's deputy's firearm.
The Lebanon Police Department circulated a photo of suspects after a rash of car break-ins were reported in Lebanon, Whitestown and rural Zionsville on May 13.
Two of the cars in Lebanon were tied to a sheriff's deputy, and a gun and badge were stolen from the deputy's unmarked, locked squad car, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The badge was left nearby with other property and returned to the deputy, Lebanon Police Detective Trey Hendrix reported. But the gun has not been recovered, authorities confirmed Friday.
Security video from the deputy's apartment complex showed suspects entering the car, and police posted still photos from it to social media.
A Tippecanoe County Deputy contacted local officials, saying he recognized two of the suspects as Elijah Scales, 18, of Lafayette, and a juvenile from a traffic stop that is under investigation in his county, according to the affidavit.
Local police arrested both suspects Tuesday, and authorities learned the minor was really 19-year-old Jamarius Fields of Marion County, whose mother told the juvenile court was fraudulently using his younger brother's identity, the affidavit reads.
Police confirmed Fields' identity by comparing his photos to his juvenile criminal record and informed Tippecanoe County authorities, Hendrix reported.
Scales and Fields are charged with theft as a level 5 felony and unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle, class B misdemeanor.
Both were being held in the Boone County Jail on Friday.
Security video showed two other suspects were with Fields and Scales while they went through cars, according to the affidavit. No others had been arrested as of press time.
One victim told a Boone County Communications Center dispatcher at 4 a.m. May 13 that four black juvenile males dressed in dark clothing tried to break into her car in the 6500 block of Daffodil Lane in Whitestown.
Police said that cars in the area had been ransacked. They reportedly found credit cards and identification cards lying on the ground and tried to return them to their owners, according to dispatch records.
Property taken also included wallets, a purse, vehicle registrations, cash, a watch, shoes, sunglasses, a computer, a prescription pad, and more, police reported at the time.
Identifying information about the deputy's stolen firearm was immediately entered into a law enforcement database, and the sheriff's office notified other area police agencies.
The Lebanon Police Department and Boone County Sheriff's Office are still investigating. Anyone with information about the suspects or burglaries is asked to call 765-482-1412 and select option 4 to talk to a dispatcher.
