By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

Robert James Brubaker

PIERCETON — A Warsaw man was recently arrested after attempting to break into a residence.

Robert James Brubaker, 36, 5742 S. Lake Shore Drive West, Warsaw, is charged with burglary, a level 5 felony; residential entry, a level 6 felony; and criminal trespass, a class A misdemeanor.

On Nov. 17, a Pierceton Police officer responded to a report of burglary in progress at a residence. The officer arrived at the residence and spoke with a woman, who said that an unknown man was attempting to enter her residence through a locked door. The woman said she didn’t know the man and didn’t give him permission to enter.

According to court documents, the officer found the man, later identified as Brubaker, attempting to make entry into one of the residence’s windows. Brubaker climbed both a 10-foot wooden fence and a secondary chain link fence to gain entry to the residence’s window. When asked what he was doing, Brubaker said, “I’m here to visit my friend.”

When asked who his friend was, Brubaker said he was referring to the resident’s dog that was in the backyard.

Officers spoke with the property’s owner, who also said she didn’t know Brubaker and did not give him permission to be there. The property owner described an incident that occurred two hours before the residential entry report in which Brubaker attempted to make entry into her vehicle while she was trying to leave her driveway. Brubaker allegedly attempted to get into the property owner’s vehicle several times.

Brubaker was previously convicted of residential entry in December 2016. For this case, he was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Nov. 17, with a $10,250 surety and cash bond.