GNAW BONE — A Nashville woman, 34-year-old Shannon Hobson, faces two Level 6 felony counts following theft allegations made late last year.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeffrey Dames was dispatched to Gnaw Mart on Dec. 27 to take a report for a theft.
Upon arrival, Dames met with a manager of the store who brought him back to the office where the alleged victim was sitting.
The victim told Dames that her wallets and approximately $700 within them had been stolen out of her purse that was in the kitchen of the Gnaw Mart in a marked “employees only” area.
The manager told Dames that they had the person responsible on security camera footage, which had recorded the theft take place a few hours prior.
Dames saw the suspect in the footage, who was later identified as Hobson, enter the dark kitchen and walk straight towards the victim’s purse. She turned on a flashlight and moved it around in a “searching pattern,” according to the report.
Hobson then reportedly stuck something in her pocket and turned back around. A few seconds later, she left the kitchen, pulled her hood down and revealed her face to the camera.
Dames asked the manager and the victim if they knew the individual, and they both said she was a regular in the store and identified her as Hobson.
According to what the manager and victim told Dames, Hobson came into the store earlier in the day and asked the victim for a cigarette. The victim said yes and Hobson followed her back to the doorway of the kitchen area so she could grab one from her purse.
Hobson then sat at the tables in the back of the store because she was waiting for a ride.
The manager told Dames that while she and the victim were talking on the opposite end of the store, Hobson went back into the kitchen, then left out of the front door of the store.
The victim’s wallets were recovered from under her car that was parked at the store after they were taken from her purse.
According to the report, while Dames was conducting the investigation, Hobson called the store and asked to speak with the victim. The victim refused and asked Dames if he would speak with her instead.
Dames answered the phone, introduced himself, and told her that he was investigating the theft that occurred and that she was identified as the suspect.
Hobson reportedly denied the claim and told Dames she would get a ride to the store to have a conversation with him about the theft with him in person. Dames reported that he waited at Gnaw Mart for 30 minutes and Hobson never arrived.
According to the manager, Hobson also stole a bag of candy from the back storage room and ate it in the storage area right outside the office door during her visit.
Hobson faces two counts of theft, which were raised to felony-level charges due to previous convictions of the same crime in 2020. The probable cause affidavit was filed on Feb. 2.
Columbus man charged with trespassing
VAN BUREN TWP. — A Columbus man, 29-year-old Devon Burton, faces a trespassing charge after returning to a residence from which he was evicted late last year.
On Dec. 29, Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Bales was advised by dispatch that a caller on Harrison Ridge Road had reported spotting individuals at a neighboring house who loaded up and left with a “truckload” of items, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Bales reported that he was familiar with the residence the caller had referenced because Burton had been arrested there for criminal trespass and other charges on Dec. 28.
According to the report, Burton had been evicted from the residence nearly two weeks before the Dec. 28 arrest.
At the time of that arrest he was told to not return to the property. Burton told officers he had “$20,000-worth of tools” at the residence.
Officers advised him he would need to pursue a writ of assist through the Brown Circuit Court to obtain his belongings, the report said.
Following that arrest, Burton’s bail was posted by a family member and he was released from the Brown County Jail on Dec. 29.
According to the report, both Burton and his family member, along with the truck they left the Law Enforcement Center (LEC) in, were visible on security camera footage there, and their descriptions were noted in the report.
Bales then reported that he contacted the person who placed the call about seeing the individuals on Dec. 29.
The caller described the truck and the individuals he had seen at the neighboring house, and the descriptions matched the truck that was visible in the security camera footage and Burton’s descriptors on his drivers license, along with the clothes he was wearing when he left the LEC, according to the report.
The caller told Bales he observed the individuals gathering items and loading them into a different truck that was left on scene following the incident on the Dec. 28.
The caller also said that once the individuals saw him, both trucks quickly left the residence. However, one of the trucks returned later to load more items, and left quickly again after being spotted by the caller a second time. The trucks did not return after that.
Bales then contacted the property owner that the caller tried to reach during the incident. According to the affidavit, the property owner had not given anyone permission for anyone to enter the property, and had not been contacted by anyone regarding Burton’s belongings at the residence.
The property owner also said that many of the items on the property are his personal items and not Burton’s, and that he would try to go to the residence to see if anything belonging to him was missing.
Bales then contacted the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office and requested an agency assist to send an officer to Burton’s Columbus address, to see if the truck was present, and if so, to attempt to contact a resident to determine how the truck arrived there.
According to the report, Bales was contacted by a Deputy from Bartholomew County and was informed that after two visits to Burton’s Columbus address, he was unable to locate the Burton’s vehicle in the driveway or in the outbuildings on the property.
Burton faces a Class A misdemeanor for criminal trespass. The probable cause affidavit was filed on Feb. 2.
