An ongoing investigation into numerous thefts in eastern Greene County by detectives and deputies from the Greene County Sheriff’s Department has resulted in the arrest of a suspect. He’ll be in court in the morning on drug charges in one case and in a second case, theft of the Bobcat, trailer and over $27,000 worth of equipment from the Beech Creek/Eastern Fire Department.

Daniel Lee Featherston, 45, was arrested yesterday afternoon, Tuesday, February 2. He was booked into the Greene County Jail around 3 p.m. Court records and booking information at the jail show Featherston with a Bloomington address that is located in eastern Greene County in the Lawrence Hollow area.

Featherston was taken into custody on two outstanding warrants, one in a case involving felony illegal drug possession, the other in a case involving felony theft.

Featherston is accused of stealing equipment from the Beech Creek/Eastern Fire Department back in November, 2020, and has been under an ongoing investigation by the Greene County Sheriff’s Department.

GCSD Detective Shawn Cullison has served as the lead investigator in the drug case. GCSD Deputy Michael Coy has served as the lead investigator in the theft case. Numerous other deputies have been involved in these cases, including Detective David Elmore, Deputy Terry Wade, and others.

Deputy Coy was dispatched around 7 p.m. on Monday, November 30 to a residence on East McVille Road, Solsberry, after the resident called the sheriff’s department to report his green camo Honda Forman 450 four-wheeler with yellow spray paint on the back and on the lug nuts was missing.

When Deputy Coy talked to the caller, he said someone took his four-wheeler and the last time he saw it was one or two days earlier. He valued the four-wheeler at $1,700 and provided the deputy with a photo.

A few days later, a substantial amount of equipment was stolen from the Beech Creek/Eastern Fire Department located at the fire station/community building in Hendricksville. Stolen items included a 2019 3400 side-by-side Bobcat, a Diamond C 12 x 77 trailer, and approximately $8,415 worth of first responder equipment. The total value of all items stolen was estimated at $27,700.

Det. Elmore said the burglary occurred sometime between Thursday, December 3, and Tuesday, December 8. Beech Creek/Eastern Fire Chief Brandon Eads noticed the equipment was missing when he arrived at the fire station on Tuesday, December 8.

In mid-December, Det. Elmore said there had been multiple thefts in the Hendricksville and Solsberry areas in the previous few weeks and on December 16, he issued a press release asking for information from the public.

Det. Elmore’s request for info, promptly posted on GreeneStreets that same morning, got the word out and was widely shared on Facebook, and the Beech Creek/Eastern Fire Department had also been asking for info on their Facebook page, also widely shared.

The break came that same day. A few hours after the press release posting, Det. Elmore got an anonymous call from someone who said they had seen the photos on social media and they had seen the trailer and the other equipment stolen from the fire department sitting behind a residence in Lawrence Hollow. The caller sent two photos of the residence and what the caller believed was the stolen Bobcat.

By 3:05 p.m., Det. Elmore had arrived at a residence at 1518 North Lawrence Hollow Drive. He got out and walked past the residence and using binoculars, spotted the trailer in the backyard.

Shortly after, Det. Cullison and Deputy Wade arrived at the Lawrence Hollow location to assist, then Deputy Coy.

Looking around some more, the officers observed what appeared to be the stolen Bobcat and the trailer. They also saw a four-wheeler with black rims and the inner hubs painted yellow that they were looking for, that was stolen from McVille Road on November 30.

When Det. Elmore went to the main door of the residence where these items were observed, he saw cans of spray paint in the front yard along with blue masking tape with green paint on the masking tape – all near the front door. The front door had a padlock and there was an approximate two-inch opening between the door and the door frame.

Given what they could see in plain view, Det. Elmore asked for a search warrant and that was issued by Superior Court Judge Dena Martin around 6:30 p.m. They were looking for a 2019 black and white two-seater Bobcat 3400 side-by-side with a front winch, a Darley-Davey high pressure firefighting 6.5 hp pump, a Hannay Reel 4000 Series manual crank with 100 feet of ¾ boost lite hose, 70 gallon poly water tank, hose storage with tailgate, 10-24” long Velcro D loop straps to secure a long board or stokes basket to unit, four quick-release tie-down turnbuckles, ratchet straps, 11.5” fire nozzle, a backboard that folded in half, 16” LED light bar, a black Diamond C trailer with a custom half and half fold tailgate, and a green Foreman ES Honda with black rims and yellow-painted inner hubs.

The search warrant was executed around 7 p.m. by Det. Elmore, Det. Cullison, Deputy Wade and Deputy Coy. They positively located the trailer, the Bobcat, and the four-wheeler. The green spray paint had been used to spray paint the Bobcat and the four-wheeler.

Inside the residence, they located multiple illegal drug items, a black wallet, mail, and more spray paint. They also located the backboard.

Fire Chief Eads then arrived and took possession of the fire department’s equipment and Owensburg Towing arrived to tow the four-wheeler from the McVille area (Deputy Coy’s case) and another stolen trailer in a case being investigated by Deputy Davis Aerne.

During evidence processing, Det. Elmore found an Indiana identification card inside the wallet found in the residence. It belonged to Featherston. The wallet contained other cards and a receipt from the Bloomington Walmart store for numerous cans of spray paint, dated Monday, December 7.

Det. Cullison then contacted the Walmart store where loss prevention associates were able to use the receipt to locate the individuals purchasing the spray paint on the store’s video surveillance system. The video showed a heavy-set white female and a slender white male purchasing the paint and after paying cash, the man put the receipt into a black wallet matching the one taken as evidence. Video also showed them getting into a vehicle outside the store.

Deputies also interviewed numerous neighbors in the Lawrence Hollow area who knew Featherston as Dan. The property owner said Daniel Featherston was renting the residence. One neighbor said Featherston had tried to trade the four-wheeler for a truck. Another said Featherston told him his dad had passed away and he had inherited a four-wheeler and a side-by-side. Featherston was believed to have moved onto the property last fall.

In the probable cause affidavit prepared by Det. Cullison in the drug case, he writes that when the deputies arrived at the residence and when they executed the search warrant, nobody was home, but there was smoke coming out of the chimney from a wood stove.

When they entered the trailer, according to Det. Cullison, they found several drug-related items in plain view, including smoking devices and three syringes in a gray plastic box in a bedroom. In the bathroom, they found several more syringes. In the living room, they found still more syringes including one with blood in it – indicating it had been used, a set of digital scales and more smoking pipes and burnt plant material. They also found a box marked “Dan” with five syringes, alcohol swabs and a vile of Naloxone. They also found paperwork with Featherston’s name.

In another bedroom, they found the wallet with Featherston’s identification and cards, mail addressed to Featherston, a mirror with a razor blade and white residue, several syringes, small metal tins with white residue, cotton balls, twisted plastic wraps with white residue, a zip lock bag with white powder, a metal grinder, a burnt metal spoon and more. Some of these items field-tested positive for methamphetamine.

Det. Cullison noted the residence was in disarray and only had one bedroom that appeared to be livable.

On January 12, the first criminal case (in Greene County) was filed against Featherston and a warrant was issued for his arrest. In that case, Featherston is facing preliminary charges of:

Possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony,
Unlawful possession of syringe, a Level 6 felony,
Possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor,
Possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor, and
Maintaining a common nuisance, a Level 6 felony.

On Monday, February 1, the second criminal case (in Greene County) was filed against Featherston and the second warrant was issued for his arrest. In this case, he is facing a preliminary charge of:

Theft, a Level 6 felony.

Bond has been set at $4,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed in the theft case but he’s being held without bond in the drug case, pending court appearance.

In both cases, Featherston is scheduled to appear in Greene Superior Court tomorrow morning, February 4.

Featherston also has at least three felony cases currently pending against him in Monroe County.

Records show Featherston has served more than one stint in the Indiana Department of Corrections (DOC), for convictions of burglary in 2002 in Monroe County, prescription fraud in 2005 in Morgan County, prescription fraud in 2006 in Morgan County, possession of cocaine in 2012 in Morgan County, possession of cocaine in 2015 in Monroe County, and burglary in 2016 in Morgan County. The date of his last release from DOC was last fall – September 16, 2020.

Records also show that over the years since 2000, numerous felony cases have been filed against him, in Monroe, Morgan and Marion counties, but none in Greene County, until now.

Greene County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Keven McIntosh has filed notice with the court that in the theft case, he intends to ask for a habitual offender sentence enhancement.

Previous stories posted on GreeneStreets about these incidents are included below…..

Story posted on Greene Streets on January 4:

UPDATE: GCSD recovers Bobcat and other equipment stolen from fire department

The Greene County Sheriff’s Department has recovered the Bobcat and trailer and other equipment, with an estimated value of over $30,000, that was stolen from the Eastern Fire Department in early December. GCSD Detective David Elmore reports that an anonymous tip led to the discovery of the stolen goods at a residence in the Lawrence Hollow area of eastern Greene County.

A story about this incident, and a request for information from the public, that was posted on GreeneStreets on December 16 is included below this update.

According to Det. Elmore, the sheriff’s department received an anonymous tip on December 16. The tipster said they believed the Eastern Fire Department’s equipment could be located at a residence in Lawrence Hollow.

Det. Elmore and other deputies responded to a residence on Lawrence Hollow Drive, and upon their arrival, deputies observed what appeared to be Eastern Fire Department’s stolen items.

Det. Elmore applied for a search warrant which was approved and issued for the residence on Lawrence Hollow Drive.

During the execution of the search warrant, GCSD deputies located Eastern Fire Department’s stolen trailer, Bobcat and all first responder equipment loaded on the Bobcat except for one 16-inch light bar.

Deputies also located a stolen four-wheeler that was recently reported stolen, along with another trailer that had been reported stolen.

Det. Elmore said that thanks to the anonymous tip, the Greene County Sheriff Department was able to return over $30,000 worth of equipment back to the owners.

No arrests have been made or charges filed in this case as of today. Det. Elmore said the investigation is ongoing.

Story posted on GreeneStreets on December 16, 2020:

GCSD asks for tips on first responder equipment stolen from fire department

The Greene County Sheriff’s Department is asking for information from the public about a burglary that occurred earlier this month at the Hendricksville Community Center in eastern Greene County. A Bobcat on a trailer that belonged to the Eastern Volunteer Fire Department was stolen and GCSD has been investigating.

All photos of the stolen Bobcat and trailer are courtesy of Greene County Sheriff’s Department

Greene County Sheriff’s Detective David Elmore said when Eastern Fire Chief Brandon Eads arrived at the Hendricksville fire station on Tuesday, December 8, he saw the fire department’s Bobcat was missing along with a trailer and other equipment.

Det. Elmore reported the burglary occurred sometime between Thursday, December 3, and Tuesday, December 8.

Stolen items included a 2019 3400 side-by-side Bobcat, a Diamond C 12 x 77 trailer, and approximately $8,415 worth of first responder equipment.

According to Det. Elmore, the total value of all items stolen amounts to $27,700.

Anyone with information about this incident or the whereabouts of any of these items should call GCSD Dispatch at 812-384-4411 or contact any law enforcement agency.

As always, anonymous tips can be called in to Greene County CrimeStoppers at 812-847-5463 or 812-TIP-LINE. Local CrimeStoppers also has a toll-free number, 866-446-4672, so any Greene County resident can call at no cost.