COLUMBUS, Ind. – A local man and a Hamilton County woman have been arrested after supposedly being linked to a rash of storage unit burglaries in the Columbus area.
Throughout July and August, the Columbus Police Department (CPD) Intelligence-Led Policing Unit (ILP) noticed a recent increase in reports of burglaries at storage units, specifically at Storage Express locations.
Detectives from CPD and the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office were assigned to investigate the burglaries. They eventually identified Dustin Eakle, 29 of Columbus, as a potential suspect in the break-ins.
On August 29, investigators were watching Eakle and reportedly caught him in the act of burglarizing a storage unit at Storage Express, 170 15th St. Stolen items were allegedly found inside his vehicle.
The suspect was taken into custody and charged with Burglary (level 5 felony). Detectives obtained a search warrant for Eakle’s personally owned storage unit and supposedly recovered more stolen property. Based on their investigation, detectives believe he committed eight different burglaries in Columbus and Bartholomew County.
As the case progressed, Madison Poynter, 30, of Noblesville, was implicated as Eakle’s girlfriend and accomplice to some burglaries. She was arrested on August 30 for Burglary (level 5 felony).
Both remain in the Bartholomew County Jail on a temporary hold.
Eakle-Courtesy of CPD
Poynter-Courtesy of CPD
