Suspect apprehended and behind bars after bizarre 3 a.m. incident

A couple in eastern Greene County called 911 at 3:32 in the morning yesterday (Thursday) to report a bizarre incident at their home with an unknown man knocking on their window saying their house was his house and their truck was his truck.

Brian Ray Blake

Brian Ray Blake, 48, was arrested by Deputy James Carpenter of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department yesterday morning, Thursday, January 30. Blake was booked into jail around 9:13 a.m. Blake was listed on the jail log as homeless from Bloomington.

GCSD Deputy Zachary Goad, the lead investigator in this incident, was dispatched, along with Deputy Davis Aerne, early yesterday, Thursday, January 30, to a residence on East Richland Lane, Solsberry, on the report of suspicious activity.

Around 3:32 a.m., dispatch got a call from a woman who said an unknown man was at her home saying it was his home and that her husband and this man were fighting with each other at the door of their house.

With the two deputies on the way, dispatch then got a call from the husband who said the man was arguing with him about their house being his house and saying the truck parked in the driveway was his (the man’s) truck. He said the man managed to shove him out of his own house and the man went inside. He said the man was middle-aged, skinny, had a long red beard and was wearing a “Bloomfield” shirt. Dispatch lost contact with the man during this call.

A dispatcher then was able to reach the woman for an update. The woman said the man had pushed her husband out of the door to the house then he came inside, then left. They last saw him standing near their truck and they didn’t know where he had gone.

When the two deputies arrived, they attempted to locate the man without success so they stopped to talk to the couple who filled in some more details about how this incident unfolded.

The husband explained the man knocked on a window around 3 a.m. and asked if the truck belonged to them. Then the man left. About 30 minutes later, the man came back and asked the husband if he lived in the house and if the truck was his.

The husband further said the man accused him of stealing the truck and told him it wasn’t his (the husband’s) house before pulling him out. The husband said he might have injured his own knee when he was struggling with the man and fell down the stairs.

The woman confirmed the man also asked her if they had stolen the truck.

Deputy Goad said the window screen was bent and damaged where the man might have been trying to get in the house. The couple said it was not in a damaged condition before this incident.

Around 7:47 a.m., the husband contacted the sheriff’s department again and said the unknown man from earlier in the morning was then trying to get into a truck at his neighbor’s house.

GCSD Deputy James Carpenter responded and found Brian Blake inside the neighbor’s truck. Deputy Carpenter took a photo of Blake and when the photo was showed to the husband, he was able to identify Blake as the man involved in the earlier incident at his home.

Blake was transported to jail where his bond was set at $5,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed.

The preliminary charges against Blake include:

• Residential entry – breaking and entering dwelling, a Level 6 felony,

• Battery, a Class B misdemeanor, and

• Criminal mischief, a Class B misdemeanor.

Court records and a brief check of past stories in the Bloomington Herald-Times and Martinsville Reporter-Times indicate Blake has a significant criminal history and may have warrants out for his arrest in Monroe County.