A Linton man accused of breaking into a home and taking power tools and a firearm was taken into custody last Thursday afternoon. He’s been charged with four felonies.

Justin Lee Helms, 27, Linton, was arrested by Deputy James Carpenter of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department last Thursday afternoon, March 12.

Deputy Carpenter was dispatched around 1:18 p.m. last Thursday when someone reported a burglary. When Deputy Carpenter arrived, the resident said his mother had returned home and found Helms inside their residence. Helms was a family member of the two but did not live at the residence and did not have a key.

Helms is accused of breaking into the residence through a back window into a bedroom, taking power tools and a Ruger .380 firearm, putting them in a couple of bags then fleeing when the woman came home. In person and in text messages, Helms allegedly said the two owed him $1,000 for work on a garage and he would return the tools when they paid him the money. He allegedly threatened to harm himself if they did not.

At 2:05 p.m., Deputy Carpenter requested dispatch do an emergency phone ping on the phone Helms was using. At 2:07 p.m., dispatch advised a location on 11th Street NW in Linton. One minute later, at 2:08 p.m., Det. Shawn Cullison said he had a visual on the vehicle Helms was driving. Helms was in the driver’s seat with one passenger in the vehicle.

When Deputy Carpenter arrived at the location, the officers ordered Helms and the passenger out of the vehicle. The passenger had just been picked up about 15 minutes prior and he was released from the scene. Helms was taken into custody.

Deputy Carpenter reported the tools were found in the back of the truck and the firearm and a bottle of the woman’s medication was found inside the truck.

Helms was booked into the Greene County Jail around 3-3:30 p.m.

Helms appeared before Judge Erik Allen in Greene Circuit Court earlier today, Monday, March 16, for an initial hearing. His bond was set at $20,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed.

He has been charged with:

• Burglary of a dwelling, a Level 4 felony,

• Theft of a firearm, a Level 6 felony,

• Theft with a prior conviction for either theft or conversion, a Level 6 felony,

• Operating a vehicle after being a habitual traffic offender, a Level 6 felony, and

• Carrying a handgun without a license, a Class A misdemeanor.