FORTVILLE – Three friends face felony charges alleging they burglarized a Fortville home, stealing several TVs they later pawned for drug money, according to court documents.
Brian Ederfield of Fortville, Anthony Martin of Indianapolis and Felicia Stanley of Greenwood each face a Level 4 felony count of burglary along with a Level 6 felony count of theft, court records show.
A Fortville man called 911 after seeing three people suspiciously parked outside his neighbor’s home. Two men — one of whom he recognized as Edenfield — were carrying electronics out of the house while a woman stayed in the car, the caller said, according to court documents.
The man said he knew the home was supposed to be vacant because his neighbor was getting ready to move. She’d asked him to keep an eye on the property. No one was supposed to have access to the place except her, the man said.
Police contacted the homeowner, who said three flat-screen televisions and a video gaming system were stolen from the house. She said she had not given anyone permission to go into her home and take her belongings.
Officers ran the serial numbers from each TV through an online investigations program, and they found they were pawned at an Indianapolis store by Stanley, court documents state.
Detectives questioned Stanley, who admitted to being with Edenfield and Martin on the day of the theft. She said she drove Edenfield to the Fortville home at his request and watched from the car as he and Martin carried the electronics to the car, court documents state.
Stanley said Edenfield told her he had permission to go into the home and to sell the televisions. He’d said the items belonged to his sister, and he was giving the money to her, court documents state.
Stanley said she took Edenfield to Indianapolis to pawn the TVs. She pawned them for him because he didn’t have the identification the store required, court documents state.
When detectives questioned Martin, who also admitted to being with Edenfield and Stanley on the day of the thefts, he said Stanley was looking for a way to get drugs, court documents state.
Martin said he and Stanley had exchanged messages throughout that day about buying methamphetamine, and Stanley suggested Edenfield pawn the TVs and use the money to buy drugs, court documents state.
Martin said after he and Edenfield brought the TVs and the gaming system from the Fortville home to the Stanley’s car, the trio drove to a home in Indianapolis to sell them to a friend of Edenfield’s, court documents state.
They visited the pawn store after the first sale plan fell through, then bought drugs with they money they’d acquired, Martin told police.
Stanley and Martin have been arrested and pleaded not guilty to the charges they face. Each was being held in the Hancock County Jail on a $3,000 cash bond at press time.
An arrest warrant for Edenfield is pending, records show.