Among the 17 people indicted Tuesday by a Highland County Grand Jury were three area men who allegedly broke into a Greenfield home, held the occupants at knifepoint, ransacked the house and later fled from police with narcotics and drug paraphernalia, according to the Greenfield Police Department.
As previously reported, Bradley S. Bolender, 35, Greenfield, Matthew Jordan, 25, Bainbridge, and James Hester, 30, Bainbridge, were each indicted on one count of aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony, one count of felonious assault, a second-degree felony, and two counts of abduction, a third-degree felony.
According to a GPD press release, Bolender, Jordan and Hester allegedly forced their way into a residence in Greenfield on April 6 and held the occupants at knifepoint as they ransacked the house.
According to the indictment, the defendants allegedly held the victims “for nearly an hour as they ransacked the home and threatened to kill them if they resisted or reported the crime.”
According to an affidavit filed in the case, one of the victims, who apparently knew Bolender, was struck multiple times in the face as his wife was held at knifepoint.
After the three men left the home, a GPD officer on patrol saw one of them stumble and drop something on the sidewalk, according to the release.
The affidavit said the officer heard glass shatter when the object fell, and he attempted to stop the men, but they refused. A foot chase ensued, according to the release, and the men were eventually apprehended at another residence.
There, officers recovered a plastic jar containing a brown powdery substance, two pocket knives, two glass smoking pipes with burnt residue, scales, a cell phone and two pill bottles with white tablets, according to the affidavit.
When the arresting officer returned to where he had tried to stop the men, he recovered glass jars containing what was believed to be marijuana and hash, some of which were labeled “O.G. Kush,” “Krypto,” and “bubble hash,” as well as a bag of brown powdery substance labeled “O.G. Kief,” and other drug paraphernalia.
In addition to the alleged narcotics, the officer found several more knives, according to the affidavit.
The men were initially charged with obstructing official business and tampering with evidence before investigators learned about the home invasion, according to court documents.
All three remained incarcerated at the Highland County jail on Wednesday.
Reach David Wright at 937-402-2570, or on Twitter @DavidWrighter.
