Two men who were facing criminal charges in Johnson County courts have pled guilty and been sentenced for burglary and child solicitation, respectively. The Daily Journal has previously reported about these cases, and is sharing this update to give resolution to our earlier reporting on crime in the community.
Burglary, car theft in Greenwood
A Greenwood man who was arrested after he broke into a home, cut his hair, took a shower and stole a vehicle parked in the garage, has pled guilty and been sentenced to six years in prison.
Maka O. Bautista, 21, plead guilty and was sentenced to six years in prison on one count of burglary, a Level 4 felony, and one count of auto theft, a Level 5 felony, in Johnson County Superior Court 3 last week. Aside from a jail credit of 96 days, his entire sentence will be executed, with both counts running concurrently, according to court records. Bautista is required to serve 75% of his sentence and to pay $84 in restitution, said Joe Villanueva, Johnson County Prosecutor.
Greenwood police were called to the 1000 block of Wildwood Drive at 2:35 p.m. May 8 to investigate a report of a suspicious man in the area. A man wearing light-colored pants and a gray hooded sweatshirt had reportedly been going door-to-door attempting to sell Versace belts. When police arrived in the area, they were not able to find the man, according to a Greenwood Police Department report.
About two hours later, police were called to the 1100 block of Barcelona Drive after two people reported their house had been burglarized. The homeowners told police they had arrived home and opened their garage to discover their SUV was missing from the garage, according to the report. There was no sign of forced entry, so homeowners told police they likely left the patio door unlocked.
The homeowners told police there was evidence that there was someone inside their home, including a décor item that was found broken. The homeowners also found a trail of human hair going from the living room to the bathroom, where they found a hair trimmer and a pile of hair. It also appeared that whoever had broken into the home had also taken a shower there, the report says.
Clothing that do not belong to the homeowners were found in a pile on the bathroom floor. In the pile of clothes, a phone with a picture of Bautista as the lock screen image was found, according to the report.
Several items of clothing also were taken from the home, the homeowners told police.
Police obtained the stolen vehicle’s license information from the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles and put out an alert for the car. A license plate reader camera found the car around 3:58 p.m. in Edinburgh near State Road 252 and Interstate 65, the report says.
The car was then captured on another camera around 4:26 p.m. going eastbound on State Road 44 west of Miller Street in Shelbyville. Shelby County deputies later located the car, and detained the driver, the report says.
The driver appeared to have freshly shaven hair and was wearing clothing matching the description of the items homeowners had reported stolen. The man was then taken to the Greenwood Justice Center and was identified as Bautista, the report says.
Child solicitation sting
An Anderson man who was arrested in a child solicitation sting in May has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to seven years in prison.
Dustin Ussery, 35, pled guilty to one count of child solicitation, a Level 4 felony, and one count of possession of child pornography, a Level 6 felony, in Johnson County Superior Court 2 on July 7. He was sentenced to seven years in an Indiana Department of Correction Facility. Up to four years of his sentence, minus a 56-day jail credit, will be executed in prison, with the remaining three years suspended to probation. Both counts will run concurrently, or at the same time.
Ussery was one of 11 men arrested during a three-day child solicitation roundup that was organized by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. JCSO collaborated with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Franklin Police for the sting.
JCSO deputies and Franklin police officers set up fake profiles posing as a 14-year-old on websites used to find sexual partners, including Reddit and Adam for Adam. The profile drew interest from men from all over Indiana, officials said in May.
During the operation, Ussery and an undercover officer began a text message exchange with Ussery being aware that the child was underage. During the conversations, they discussed having sex and using drugs for a price and they agreed to meet at a location in Greenwood, according to court documents.
Ussery drove from Anderson to meet up with the undercover officer. When he was arrested, police say he admitted that he knew what he was trying to do was illegal, according to court documents.
Officers did not find any drugs, despite the original agreement. Later, officers searched his phone and found a nude image of a child, documents say.
