Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
A Warsaw man accused of residential entry was found not guilty by a six-person jury Thursday afternoon in Kosciusko Superior Court I.
Samuel Davis Jr., 30, of Kuder Lane, Warsaw, was accused of breaking into an apartment occupied by Lisa Estep and Allison Smith Feb. 25. Originally, Davis was charged with burglary, but the charge was later reduced to residential entry because nothing was stolen.
The jury, made up of four men and two women, deliberated about 30 minutes before returning with the not guilty verdict around 4:40 p.m. They heard testimony from five witnesses during the trial, which lasted less than four hours.
Estep and Smith each testified they lived in the same apartment complex as Davis. The women live on the third floor and Davis resided on the second floor.
Estep testified that when she got home from work Feb. 25, she entered her apartment and saw Davis crouched in her kitchen as she walked past. After screaming, Estep told Davis to leave and he complied.
Estep told the jury that once Davis left the apartment, she locked the door and called Smith, her roommate. After talking with Smith, Estep called her boyfriend, Doug Brumfield Jr., who is a deputy with the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department.
Brumfield was off duty at the time of the reported incident so he called deputy Mike Mulligan about the possible break-in.
Once Brumfield and Mulligan arrived at the residence, Mulligan took a statement from Estep about the incident.
Police inspected Estep's apartment and found no damage to the door, doorknob, door frame or door casing. However, they said it was possible the door was opened using a credit card since the deadbolt was not engaged.
Estep said she knew who Davis was and identified him as the man in her apartment. Davis was arrested shortly after police spoke with him in his apartment the night of the reported break-in.
In cross examinations, Davis' attorney, Jay Rigdon, brought up the fact that both Estep and Smith each had misdemeanor convictions in the past.
Then in his closing argument, Rigdon told the jury that in order to convict Davis, they would "have to believe some really foolish things," pointing out that Estep called her roommate but never called 911 and that no one responded when Estep said she screamed after seeing Davis. Rigdon also pointed out there was no physical evidence or photos putting Davis in the apartment Feb. 25.
"Magic words are all the state of Indiana has to prove this case," Rigdon said. "Everyone in this room could be convicted if magic words were evidence enough."
