An investigation into multiple thefts at Johnson County Park in November led to burglary charges for an Indianapolis couple.
Angel S. Miller, 31, and David R. Morphew, 31, were both charged with burglary as a Level 5 felony on Wednesday. The charges were filed in Johnson County Superior Court 3 and Circuit Court, respectively.
Miller’s bond was set at $7,900, which she paid and was released. Morphew remains at the Johnson County jail on an $8,500 bond.
First incidents
Deputies with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office were called to Johnson County Park in Nineveh on Nov. 4 after receiving a report that fuel was missing from storage tanks. A Johnson County Park employee told deputies that approximately 150 gallons of gasoline was taken, according to court documents.
When employees arrived to work on Nov. 4, they noticed someone had entered a secure door to a utility room in the shower building. The door to a shed located to the south near the fuel tanks was also open, court documents say.
Deputies found a siphon hose laying on the ground next to two empty cleaning supply jugs, according to court documents.
A park employee told detectives they had previously caught a man and woman using the shower building, and took a photo of their vehicle, a silver/tan SUV with heavy front end damage. The employee also told detectives the park would be putting up trail cameras to try to catch the gasoline thief, according to court documents.
In the early morning hours of Nov. 7, the SUV was captured on the trail camera as it backed up to the gasoline tank. A male was seen walking to the south toward the storage tanks from the shower building, court documents say.
Thefts escalate
About three weeks later, on Nov. 27, deputies were called to the park for another theft report.
Someone had entered the gate area of the horse park sometime between Nov. 23-28, and stolen several items, including a county-owned truck, a 20-foot flatbed trailer, a John Deere Tractor and an arena drag groomer, according to court documents.
Deputies were told by a park employee that they believed someone had also stolen more gasoline because the plug on the top of a tank had been tampered with. There were also two siphon hoses and a plastic funnel near the tank, court documents say.
Employees took deputies to the pole barn, where they determined a possible point of entry for the suspects. There were marks on a door jam near the handle of the exterior doors, court documents say.
The utility room at the shower house was also entered again, and detectives collected a trash bag with a siphon hose and a red gas can inside. Outside the shower house, they found a pair of purple panties, which were collected for evidence, according to court documents.
Deputies came back later that day after it was determined that a building at the horse arena had been broken into. A printer, laptop, battery jumper box and a public announcement system had been stolen from the horse arena, court documents say.
Truck recovered
Surveillance footage showed the truck leaving the park with the trailer in the early morning hours of Nov. 25. Another video from late on Nov. 24 showed an SUV pulling up the shower house, according to court documents.
Both Miller and Morphew were captured on camera by the shower building on Nov. 25. At one point, Morphew is seen walking away from the shower building toward the pole barn with tools in his hands. About an hour later, the stolen truck is captured on camera at the fuel tanks, and he is captured walking in a direction away from the truck, court documents show.
Later, a park employee got a call from an Indianapolis resident who had seen a Facebook post about the stolen truck, trailer and tractor. He had found them in a parking lot on the 3000 block of S. Keystone Avenue in Indianapolis, according to court documents.
The truck’s catalytic converter had been cut off and used saw blades were found under the truck. It had been spray-painted white to cover the Johnson County seal, and a majority of the fuel had been siphoned out, court documents say.
During their investigation, detectives determined the silver SUV was registered to a Shelbyville man. The man said he had sold the vehicle to Miller and Morphew, court documents show.
They also determined that Miller had allegedly pawned two of the stolen items at an Indianapolis pawn shop. Both items were later returned to the park, court documents show.
When detectives interviewed the couple on Dec. 1, both Miller and Morphew denied stealing anything from the park. Miller initially denied being at the park during the month of November. After detectives showed Miller photos of her at the park, she said her and Morphew were there to use the showers, according to court documents.
When asked about allegedly pawning the stolen items, Miller reportedly said they were given to her as payment for working on other vehicles.
Security concerns
Most of the more expensive items stolen, like the truck, have been returned to the Johnson County Parks and Recreation Department. Both the truck and the trailer are currently undergoing repairs, said Kevin Leonard, parks superintendent.
However, about $3,500 in tools hasn’t been recovered yet, Leonard said. If they’re not found, they will likely have to be replaced at the county’s expense.
“If it does pop up anywhere, hopefully in the future we could get some of those things back. But we don’t have everything back at this point,” he said.
After the initial fuel thefts, the parks department took action by contacting the sheriff’s office and installing trail cameras throughout the county park. The two agencies then began to work together to try to catch the suspects, Leonard said.
The parks department is now considering additional security measures to deter future theft. Leonard and assistant superintendent Bradley Wiser recently met with a couple of security companies to get quotes on security upgrades for the entire park, especially for facilities that store equipment, tools and vehicles.
These upgrades could include having the doors armed and monitored, putting up additional cameras and having a locksmith replace locks, Leonard said.
The sheriff’s office has also increased patrols in and around the park as a precaution.
“We’re — myself, the staff and the county — we’re doing everything we can to prevent this from happening in the future,” Leonard said. “This isn’t something that’s happened since I’ve been here. We’re doing our research on getting some added security and stuff on those facilities that have our equipment, hopefully that will prevent things from happening in the future.”
