Taking someone’s phone without permission resulted in the Dec. 5 arrest of a 28-year-old Hymera man on multiple charges. 

When a female noticed her phone was missing and last remembered having it at the Moose in Linton, she logged into her home computer and utilized the “find my phone” feature to attempt to locate it. She told officers from the Linton Police Department the red phone with a teal case appeared to be at an I Street Southeast residence. She drove by the residence but didn’t feel comfortable approaching. 

Officers went to the residence but were unable to make contact with anyone. Officers made contact with a neighbor who said he believed the residence was vacant; however, he said he had seen a male wearing a black hoodie, carrying a backpack walking to and from the residence. The neighbor believed the male was squatting in the residence. 

Officers made contact with the property owner, who said the property was currently vacant and no one should be in the house. He gave officers permission to enter the residence and perform a search. 

Officers Davis Aerne and Mitchell Eberhardt entered the residence as the door was unlocked. They announced themselves as police and asked that anyone inside make themselves known. While looking around the front room of the residence, officers found a male subject, later identified as William Dicus, asleep on the floor. Officers woke Dicus up and he told them he was just staying there due to him not having anywhere else to stay.

Officers asked Dicus if there was a phone in the residence to which he denied. Officers then explained that a phone had been tracked to the residence using “find my phone”. Officers then told Dicus to collect his items because the owner had not given him permission to be in the residence. When collecting his items, officers noticed he picked up a phone. Aerne wrote in the probable cause affidavit that the phone matched the description of the one that had been reported as missing. 

When Dicus was informed he was going to be detained for theft, he attempted to run out the front door. Officers told Dicus to get on the ground several times, but he was trying to pull away to get out the front door. Officers escorted him down to the ground still having control of his arms. While on the ground, Dicus’s left arm was under his body and he was refused to give officers his left hand. Officers advised him to stop resisting. DIcus then gave officers his right hand and officers were able to put him in restraints. After being placed in restraints, Dicus admitted to finding the phone near the Moose. 

While searching Dicus, officers located two homemade plastic smoking devices commonly used to ingest illegal substances. Aerne wrote in the probable cause that the devices had an odor of burnt marijuana. Residue in the device later field tested positive for marijuana. 

Dicus was transported to Greene County Jail where bond was set at $2,500 surety with 10 percent allowed. 

Dicus appeared in Greene Superior Court via two-way video on Dec. 8 and was formally charged with: 

• Theft, a Class A Misdemeanor

• Resisting Law Enforcement, a Class A Misdemeanor

• Possession of Marijuana, a Class B Misdemeanor

• Possession of Paraphernalia, a Class C Misdemeanor