Herald-Times subscriber burglarized during vacation

Subscribers of the Bloomington Herald-Times newspaper reported they were the victims of a burglary after informing the publication they were going on vacation, Bloomington Police Department Sgt. Joe Crider said.

The homeowners reported they had observed an unidentified male in their living room who fled out the front door June 8.

The 64-year-old homeowner indicated to police officers that prior to the burglary, they had told the Bloomington Herald-Times they were going on vacation and requested they stop the delivery of their newspaper.

The burglary occurred during first day the newspaper services was scheduled to stop, Crider said.

The case was forwarded to the detective division where Det. Kevin Hill followed up with the initial report.

Hill contacted the Herald-Times and obtained the information of the delivery driver for that residence, but the original driver reported a substitute had taken over.

The 30-year-old substitute driver was located and interviewed Tuesday by Hill, who confirmed the driver’s name was used at a local pawn shop to pawn a silver iPod June 18. Hill retrieved the serial number and download information, and was able to confirm that the pawned iPod was taken from the Church Hill Court residence.

The substitute driver denied being involved in the burglary and denied possessing any other stolen property, though he did admit to pawning the iPod, Crider said.

The 30-year-old substitute driver provided police with the name and telephone number regarding an 18-year-old male suspect who he believed was responsible for the burglary.

The substitute cooperated with the police in terms of the investigation by providing text messages and recorded conversations between himself and the 18-year-old suspect in order to return the stolen property, but the 18-year-old suspect admitted to selling the laptop beforehand.

A controlled buy was then set up by police officers after the 18-year-old suspect indicated to the 30-year-old driver that he wanted to trade or sell his sawed-off shotgun for a handgun.

The 30-year-old arranged a meeting near the Thompson Park area with plans to trade for a 380-caliber handgun. Once the 18-year-old male was observed near the area, a police surveillance team took him into custody and found a sawed-off shotgun in the suspect’s backpack.

The suspect was arrested, transported to the BPD and preliminarily charged with burglary, receiving stolen property and possession of a sawed-off shotgun.

The suspect said he denied involvement with the burglary or the theft, but police had recorded phone conversations that differed from his statement, Crider said.

The 30-year-old substitute driver has yet face any preliminary charges, but is still under investigation.

Hill asks that anyone who was on vacation from May to June of this year who put stoppage on their newspaper through the Herald-Times, and thinks they may have been burglarized, to contact him immediately.

—Samantha Felix