COLUMBUS — A local man was arrested for trespassing after officers located him hiding in a closet inside a Columbus apartment on Friday.
On Oct. 21st, an officer with the Indiana University Police Department was in the 400 block of S. Gladstone Avenue when he noticed a man acting suspicious in the area. The IUPD officer ultimately identified the male as Michael O. Kent, 33, of Columbus and observed Kent on the property at a nearby apartment complex and knew Kent was trespassed from that location, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
The IUPD officer contacted additional local law enforcement officers to assist and CPD officers and BCSO deputies responded a short time later. Officers observed Kent enter an apartment, however, he would not come to the door when they knocked on it. After attempting to make contact with Kent for over an hour, the officers applied for a
warrant to search the apartment for Kent, Harris said. The warrant was approved a short time later and Kent was located inside a closet hiding under clothing.
Kent was placed under arrest and he was transported to the Bartholomew County Jail
where he was remanded on a preliminary charge of criminal trespass. Officers placed a 48 hour hold on Kent and a 72 hour hold was requested by officers and later approved due to Kent being out on bond for a previous offense, Harris said. Kent was later released after posting a $505 bond.
The investigation in this case is ongoing.
A check of Kent’s criminal records history reveals multiple cases involving failure to register as a sex offender, illegal sex offender residency (a sex offender living near a school or other facility which is not allowed), and criminal trespass. The cases span from Bartholomew Superior Court 2 to Bartholomew Circuit Court.
The latest charges against Kent were filed Oct. 10 in which he is accused in Bartholomew Circuit Court of unlawful entry by a serious sex offender, a Level 6 felony, and misdemeanor criminal trespass, according to court records.
Agencies/specialty units involved: IUPD, CPD K9 Officers, CPD ILP Unit, CPD Detectives, CPD Street Officers, BCSO ILP Deputy, and the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office.
