Update: Deputy catches accused burglar in the act

A Rockholds man is being held in the Whitley County Detention Center in lieu of a $50,000 cash bond after being caught last week allegedly burglarizing a local home.

Judge Fred White entered a not guilty plea Monday morning for Clayton Elijah Hill, 27, during his arraignment in Whitley District Court on a charge of first-degree burglary.

White appointed the public advocate’s office to represent Hill and scheduled a Feb. 14 preliminary hearing in his case.

About 4:52 p.m. Thursday, Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy Tim Baker received a complaint about a burglary in progress on Louden Meadow Creek Road in the Rockholds community.

When he arrived at the scene, the victim told police that someone had busted the window out of her back door and broke into her residence, according to Hill’s arrest citation.

She also reported that she had been advised not to enter the residence until a deputy arrived.

Baker entered the home to find Hill sitting at the kitchen table with the victim’s loaded .12 gauge shotgun laying on the table in front of him, Baker wrote on the arrest citation.

Hill was then arrested without incident and lodged in the Whitley County Detention Center where he was booked at 6:38 p.m.