After a home was ransacked in January, a lengthy and involved investigation began. Step by step, a detective followed leads that resulted in charges against two suspects after DNA testing linked both of them to a cigarette that was tossed away on the scene.

The ongoing investigation has been led by Det. James O’Malley of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department after GCSD Deputies James Carpenter and Heather Wood responded to the scene on January 15. It was Deputy Wood who picked up a cigarette butt lying on top of a recent snowfall – the butt that yielded DNA evidence pointing to two suspects.

The names of the two suspects were revealed when warrants were issued for their arrest last Thursday, June 6: Levi Cody Snowden, 21, of Linton, and Kevin Misner, 24, of Bicknell. Snowden has been arrested and the warrant for Misner is still outstanding.

Snowden was taken into custody yesterday, Wednesday, June 12, by Indiana State Police Trooper Richard Klun. Around 6 p.m., Snowden was booked into the Greene County Jail where his bond was set at $19,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He posted $1,900 cash and was released later last night.

Snowden is scheduled to appear at an initial hearing in Greene Superior Court next Monday afternoon, June 17, on preliminary charges of:

Burglary of a dwelling, a Level 4 felony.
Theft where value of property is between $750 and $50,000, a Level 6 felony.

In Misner’s case, he is facing the same two felony counts.

The burglary occurred at a home on West County Road 725 South that is located in Greene County but has a Sandborn mailing address.

On January 15, the homeowner contacted the sheriff’s department to report a burglary. The caller said the couple’s entire house and garage had been ransacked with items missing from both. GCSD Deputies Carpenter and Wood were dispatched.

Deputy Wood found the cigarette butt lying on top of snow in an area between the house and the garage. The residents did not smoke. The butt was collected for DNA analysis. Deputies also found and photographed boot prints in the snow which later appeared to match boots worn by both Snowden and Misner. Several other items on the scene that had been moved were also swabbed for DNA analysis and DNA standards were collected from the residents for comparison.

The long list of items taken during the burglary included several firearms, assorted ammunition, power tools, hand tools, gaming consoles, electronics, jewelry, backpacks and numerous personal items.

One of the first breaks in the case came on February 4 with the arrest of a man accused of dealing methamphetamine. During the events that led up to his arrest, a transaction involving the sale of the meth was recorded and at the same time, he allegedly sold two firearms that were determined to be two of the firearms that were stolen during the burglary. Det. O’Malley interviewed the man who said Kevin Misner had asked him to sell some firearms. The man allegedly said Misner told him the firearms were not stolen and that he had several to sell.

O’Malley then got search warrants for Misner’s residence and for a sample of Misner’s DNA. When the warrants were executed on February 6, officers reported finding an Oakley shoulder bag with red trim that matched one stolen during the burglary. No firearms were recovered during the search, but officers reported they seized assorted ammunition, hand tools, Misner’s cell phone, and a bag containing a white crystal substance, digital scales, a pipe and a straw that field-tested positive for methamphetamine. Misner was taken into custody on a warrant issued out of Sullivan County and his DNA sample was sent to the Indiana State Police laboratory for comparison with DNA collected on the burglary scene.

When O’Malley interviewed Misner at the Sullivan County Jail on February 8, Misner allegedly said he didn’t give the firearms to anyone to sell and it was Levi Snowden who gave the firearms to the man in exchange for drugs. Misner said he had nothing to do with the burglary but he said he saw numerous items at Snowden’s residence that matched the description of some of the items from the burglary.

Next, O’Malley got a search warrant for Misner’s cell phone and a forensic examination was performed. The results revealed that Misner had sent a message to a different subject asking, “Where is my black mask?” When the person who received the message responded, he said he was with Snowden at that moment. On February 22, the man who received the message and said he was with Snowden was interviewed by O’Malley at the sheriff’s department. During this interview, the man said he had no part in the burglary and he voluntarily provided a DNA sample and said he would provide access to his cell phone.

Det. O’Malley reported that the man also said he overheard a conversation between Snowden and Misner about having firearms for sale, that Snowden had showed him a rifle that matched the description of one taken during the burglary, and that Misner told him he had taken part in the burglary and that they’d taken guns, tools, jewelry, sockets, ratchets, backpacks, a PS3 game console and green camo boots. He said Misner told him they wore gloves and a mask during the burglary and that Misner had bragged about the Oakley shoulder bag.

Another break came on February 28 when O’Malley got an anonymous tip telling him where Snowden was staying and that he was carrying a handgun that was stolen during the burglary and that there was methamphetamine in the residence where Snowden was staying.

With information from the anonymous tip, O’Malley enlisted the assistance of the Greene County Drug Task Force and surveillance began. With assistance from GCSD Deputy David Elmore, Linton Police Officer Joe Riley, Jasonville Police Officers Ryan Van Horn and Andrew Duguay and the Task Force, Snowden was arrested during a traffic stop. He was accused of driving though he had never obtained a driver’s license and officers reported he was found in possession of a substance that field-tested positive as methamphetamine as well as items believed to have been stolen during the burglary including a fixed-blade knife in a sheath and an Xbox 360.

O’Malley then got a search warrant for Snowden’s DNA and his residence and reported finding drug paraphernalia as well as more items believed to have been taken during the burglary including a machete style knife, pliers and a Samsung Surround Sound System comprised of four different components. Snowden’s DNA was sent to the ISP Lab. Det. O’Malley said when Snowden was interviewed, he denied involvement in the burglary.

On April 9, O’Malley got the first report back from the ISP Lab. It said DNA on the cigarette butt originated from two individuals and indicated one of them was likely Misner.

On May 20, O’Malley got the second report back from the ISP Lab. It indicated the DNA on the cigarette butt was one trillion times more likely to have originated from Misner and Snowden than from two other unknown individuals.

On Thursday, June 6, criminal cases were filed against both Misner and Snowden and the warrants issued for their arrest.