COLUMBUS, Ind. — Local law enforcement officers recently made three arrests in an ongoing investigation involving burglaries and thefts in Columbus and Bartholomew County.
The Columbus Police Department Intelligence Led Policing Unit, which is comprised of officers from CPD as well as the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, recognized a growing property crime trend occurring in the northeast and southeast parts of Columbus this summer, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
These crimes included burglaries at NexusPark, the Columbus Bowling Center, Whipker’s Market, as well as thefts of vehicles, and multiple thefts from vehicles including thefts of firearms.
As the investigation into the crimes began, CPD and BCSO detectives began following up on tips that were submitted to them by the public as well as by local law enforcement officers. As a result of the investigation, the following suspects were identified:
— Dakota C. Purvis, 18, of Columbus
— Antwaun T. Jones, 18, of Elizabethtown
— A 16-year-old juvenile male
On Aug. 11, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Jones in a vehicle that was stolen from Columbus, Harris said.
On Aug. 25, Columbus police officers arrested Purvis for the burglary at Whipker’s Market as well as resisting law enforcement and theft of a firearm from a vehicle on Thompson Drive in Columbus, Harris said.
On Aug. 26, Columbus police officers arrested Jones and a 16-year-old juvenile on burglary charges for their involvement in a break-in at the Columbus Bowling Center earlier this summer, Harris said.
Jones and Purvis remain incarcerated in the Bartholomew County Jail. Additional arrests are possible in this ongoing investigation which Harris said is a great example of the public and law enforcement working together to reduce crime in our community.
