Man accused of stealing items from homeowner's garage

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. - A man was arrested after he allegedly stole items from a homeowner's garage while the homeowner's house was being repaired, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Shane McKenna was charged with one count of burglary.

On September 24, officers with the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Department were called to a home on Guernsey Avenue in Osceola for a burglary.

At the scene, the homeowner told police that on August 13, he and his wife moved some of their possessions to their garage while their house was being repaired after a fire. The homeowners locked the garage with a padlock.

On September 18, a neighbor called the homeowner and said he saw an intruder in the homeowner's backyard.

When the victim went to his home, he saw that the padlock had been cut off of the garage door.

Inside the garage, two electric guitars were missing.

The homeowner told officers that he replaced the garage's padlock but didn't report the guitars as missing because they weren't worth that much, reports said.

On September 24, he returned to his home and discovered the new padlock and its bracket had been ripped from the garage door.

The neighbor told police that his Ring surveillance camera alerted him of a man in the victim's backyard. The man allegedly had two guitars and a maroon mountain bike with him.

The neighbor scared the man off the property.

Detectives watched the video and saw a skinny, white male with glasses and facial hair look into the garage through a window and try to open it. The man was wearing a white, long-sleeve Nike brand shirt, black athletic pants with pink stripes, and Nike brand shoes.

Later in the video, the man is seen walking from the victim's backyard carrying a backpack and a red and white guitar, reports said.

Law enforcement eventually identified the man in the video as Shane McKenna Jr.

On September 27, law enforcement responded to a medical assist call on Greenlawn Avenue in Osceola. Body camera footage at the scene showed McKenna wearing the same pants and shoes he appeared to be wearing in the Ring surveillance video from the night of the incident.

On Friday, a search warrant was performed on McKenna's trailer, Dodge pickup truck, and the residence on Greenlawn Avenue.

McKenna was found at the scene and taken into custody.

During the search, investigators found a Nike brand shirt and black athletic pants.

The homeowner on Greenlawn Avenue told police that McKenna tried to sell him a red and white guitar but the homeowner didn't buy it.

When police spoke with McKenna, he allegedly admitted that he and another person broke into the garage and took a backpack and a red and white bass guitar.

He said the two of them then went back to the garage later that same night and took other items, including a television, a box of video games, and another guitar, according to reports.

McKenna is being held on a $250 cash bond.

He is due in court on October 14.