When a Linton man was in court last week, he was charged with felony theft for allegedly taking a suitcase and bag full of men’s clothing and hand tools from an ex’s residence. She said they were stolen from her. He said the items belonged to him.

Robert Junior Padgett III, 27, Linton, was arrested by Chief Paul Clark of the Linton Police Department on Wednesday, April 21. Padgett’s bond was set at $4,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He posted $400 and was released then when he appeared in court last Thursday morning for an initial hearing, he was charged with theft – defendant has a prior conviction for either theft or conversion, a Level 6 felony.

Around 5:45 on April 21, Officer Clark was dispatched to a residence on B Street SE in Linton where a woman reported Padgett had stolen tools and clothing from her home.

When Officer Clark arrived and talked to the woman, she said she and Padgett have children in common and he had been there watching the children but when she arrived back home, he fled with a suitcase and bag packed full of items from her home. Padgett had allegedly called her and said he would return the items if she would meet him alone.

Officer Clark was not able to locate Padgett at first, but later that evening, found him in an alley southeast of 11th Street NE and Roosevelt Street. Padgett said the items he had taken were his and he was not hiding them but had left them near a cycle shop on 12 Street SE until he could retrieve them when he was not on foot.

Officer Clark found the suitcase and the bag hidden beneath a large evergreen tree behind a building. The items, including mostly men’s clothing and a large quantity of hand tools, were documented then returned to the woman.

Padgett was arrested and booked into the Greene County Jail at 7:31 p.m. that night. His criminal record shows he has a previous conviction for felony theft in 2016 in Vigo County.