After results of DNA testing recently came back from a lab, a criminal case was filed in April and a suspect was arrested then charged with breaking into a Greene County home last October.

Craig Allen Newsome, 36, of rural Bloomington, was arrested on Monday, April 26. He was booked into the Greene County Jail at 10:50 a.m. with bond set at $5,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. Newsome posted $500 cash and was released later the same day.

A warrant had been issued for Newsome’s arrest on April 14 following an investigation by Deputy Davis Aerne of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department that began last fall.

Deputy Aerne was dispatched to a residence in Greene County around 4:50 a.m. on October 23, 2020, after the resident called 911 and said someone had just broken into his house. He said the suspect had just left.

The resident was able to describe the suspect. He said the suspect had kicked in his patio door. The resident said he heard loud banging on his door and heard his dog barking and when he walked into a hallway, he saw the suspect inside his house and told him he’d already called 911 and he better get out of the house. The suspect then fled.

In later interviews, Deputy Aerne learned that a woman had been staying at the residence and she believed the suspect was her ex-boyfriend, Craig Newsome. He also learned that in the light of day, blood splatter and smear were found on the windows of the door that had been damaged. Deputy Aerne took photographs and he collected samples of the blood for DNA analysis.

Deputy Aerne reported that when GCSD Det. Shawn Cullison was able to make contact with Newsome in November, Newsome agreed he knew the residents but had not seen them for some time. But when Det. Cullison explained that blood was found on the door and he asked Newsome if his DNA would match the DNA found at the scene, Newsome allegedly said it would probably be a match.

According to a probable cause affidavit prepared by Deputy Aerne, Newsome confirmed that he had gone to the residence to talk to the resident but the resident acted as if he were not there and turned off the lights. He said he knocked on the door hard enough to bust his knuckles. He said he did not remember going inside the house. At that time, Newsome allegedly agreed to give an officer a sample of his DNA.

Shortly after, Newsome changed his mind and said he would not consent to giving a sample of his DNA. Deputy Aerne then requested a search warrant which was approved. A DNA sample was taken from Newsome on November 23, 2020, then sent to the Indiana State Police Lab in Indianapolis for comparison with DNA obtained from the scene.

When the results were recently returned, they showed the DNA at the scene came from one individual and the comparison showed it was one trillion times more likely that it came from Newsome than from any other unknown unrelated individual.

Note: The door that was damaged was a French-style patio double door and the total damage was estimated to be $2,600.

After Newsome was arrested, an initial hearing was scheduled in Greene Superior Court for yesterday, May 3. But Newsome retained a defense attorney, Sam Shapiro of Bloomington, and the defense waived the initial hearing.

Newsome has now been charged with:

Residential entry – breaking and entering a dwelling, a Level 6 felony, and
Criminal mischief – with damage between $750 and $50,000, a Class A misdemeanor.