NEW PALESTINE — A New Palestine man told police two friends robbed him at gunpoint and had plans to kidnap him as revenge for arranging a drug deal that went wrong, according to court documents.
Now, the suspects — 22-year-old Brant Larson of New Palestine and 22-year-old Matthew Babb of Fishers — face more than 20 criminal counts, including armed robbery, burglary, theft and drug-possession.
The charges were filed in Hancock Circuit Court on Friday. Each man faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted of the leading charges, officials said.
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A New Palestine man told police Babb and Larson broke into his home twice last week.
The alleged victim said that on June 16 the men came to his home and threatened him with a gun, demanding money they said they were owed in a recent drug deal. The men returned late the next day, broke into the victim’s home and tried to flee as police arrived on the scene, court documents state.
A friend of Babb and Larson told police his friends broke into the victim’s home on Sunday intending to “kidnap (the alleged victim) and take him to their bosses,” court documents state.
Babb and Larson, the friend said, “were part of a drug ring which he believed to be current and former members of a fraternity at Indiana University” that sold Xanax, according to police.
Babb and Larson have been held in the Hancock County Jail since early Monday. Prosecutors had asked a judge to keep the men in custody on a 72-hour hold while investigators continued to gather evidence.
Friday, they formally charged Babb and Larson, and the defendants made their first appearance in court and pleaded not guilty to the allegations they face.
Babb faces 12 criminal counts. They are: two Level 2 felony counts of burglary; two Level 2 felony counts of conspiracy to commit burglary; one Level 3 felony count of armed robbery; two Level 3 felony counts of attempted armed robbery; one Level 6 felony count of pointing a firearm; one Class A misdemeanor of theft; two Class A misdemeanors of carrying a handgun without a license; and one Class A misdemeanor of possession of a controlled substance.
Larson faces nine criminal counts. They are: two Level 2 felony counts of burglary; two Level 2 felony counts of conspiracy to commit burglary; one Level 3 felony count of armed robbery; two Level 3 felony counts of attempted armed robbery; one Class A misdemeanor of theft; one Class A misdemeanor of possession of a controlled substance.
Police were called to a home along East Main Street in New Palestine late Sunday after the alleged victim called to report a break-in.
The alleged victim told police Babb and Larson had entered his home by breaking through the window of a locked door, court documents state. He called 911 as he jumped out of his second-floor bedroom window and ran, according to reports.
As he fled and as police arrived, a gunshot went off from inside the residence, court documents state.
Investigators later learned Larson had dropped the gun he was holding and the weapon accidentally discharged, officials said. Larson told police he had not intentionally fired the gun, according to court documents.
The alleged victim told police he’s suspected Babb and Larson were the burglars who entered his home on Sunday because they’d also broken into his house the day before, according to court documents.
On the afternoon of June 16, Babb and Larson threatened the alleged victim with a gun and demanded money from him after a drug deal he’d helped arrange had gone wrong, he told police, according to court documents.
Babb and Larson had not received the cash an acquaintance of the alleged victim’s had promised them in exchange for a large amount of Xanax they’d handed over, court documents state.
Babb and Larson came to the man’s house on June 16 and demanded the money they were owed, he told police.
Babb pointed a gun at him throughout the incident, the alleged victim said, according to court documents. The men left the home with a TV and a pair of shoes “as collateral,” the alleged victim told police, according to court documents.
Babb and Larson then returned to the home late the next day and broke in a second time, investigators say. They were caught fleeing from the home by police.
Police recovered two loaded handguns, more than 400 Xanax pills and both defendants’ wallets and driver’s licenses from the crime scene, court documents state.
In interviews with police, both men said a friend sent them to check on the alleged victim that evening because he hadn’t been heard from in a few days, according to investigators.
But Larson later changed his story and told police a story that matched the alleged victim’s, police said.
Larson admitted he and Babb drove to New Palestine on June 16 and confronted the man in his home because “(Babb) was still mad about a bad drug deal that (the alleged victim) had helped set up,” court documents state.
Babb pointed a gun at the alleged victim during the altercation, Larson told police.
Larson said he and Babb came back to the home on Sunday and broke in. They both had guns at the time, he said, according to court documents.
Larson said he’d set his weapon on a counter in the house at one point on Sunday. He’d accidentally knocked the weapon off the counter, panicking as police arrived, and it fired as it hit the ground, court documents state.
He had not intended to fire the weapon, he said.
Police said they spoke with the friend who Babb and Larson claimed sent them to check on the alleged victim.
The man denied involvement in the incident, but told police he’d warned the alleged victim Babb and Larson might try to harm him, court documents state. Babb and Larson were low-level members of a drug-dealing ring connected to an Indiana University fraternity, the man said, according to court documents.
Babb and Larson are now each being held in the Hancock County Jail on $30,000 cash bonds. They’re expected back in court in August.