A Pulaski County man was arrested Tuesday after he reportedly broke into a home in North Judson.
A North Judson police officer followed a suspicious vehicle and it stopped at a trailer on Airstream Drive in North Judson. Police asked the suspect, Daniel Allen, why he was at the trailer and he said he had just gotten done fishing and he was going to his brother’s home that was next door. Allen was asked if he had permission to be in the home. Allen told police that the home is owned by the family and he was in there because it was windy and waiting for a ride. The officer was aware that the home belonged to a person incarcerated in the Starke County Jail. Police called the jail and asked the homeowner if Allen was allowed in the home and the inmate said no.
Allen was detained and when police checked the front door for signs of forced entry, they found that a padlock had been removed from the front door. Inside the residence, an officer found a jacket and inside one of the pockets he found four screws that matched the holes left in the front door and paint transfer matched as well. Allen was asked about the screws found in the jacket and reportedly said it was not his jacket. Another officer at the scene then reportedly saw a screwdriver fall out of his left sleeve and into his left side back pocket. He then tried to say the officer planted the screwdriver on him.
A cell phone was also found in the jacket that Allen said wasn’t his, but officers called Allen’s cell phone number and the phone rang. He was then taken to the Starke County Jail.
Police searched his vehicle and reportedly found drugs and paraphernalia.
Daniel Allen was arrested on preliminary charges of Residential Entry, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Precursors and Possession of a Controlled Substance.
