Cloverdale teen admits role in Owen burglary, gets 10-year sentence

SPENCER -- A Cloverdale teenager has been sentenced to 10 years in the Indiana Department of Correction with three years executed and remaining time suspended to probation for his part in a June home invasion and robbery at a Cunot-Cataract Road residence.

Christopher Gage Campbell, 18, of Cloverdale, was sentenced Tuesday morning in the Owen Circuit Court I after pleading guilty as charged to burglary, a Level 4 felony, in a plea agreement with the Owen County Prosecutor’s Office. In return for his guilty plea to burglary, charges of robbery, a Level 5 felony, and theft, a Level 6 felony, against Campbell were dropped.

The charges stemmed from a five-month investigation conducted by the Owen County Sheriff’s Department.

According to the probable cause affidavit submitted by Det. Capt. Erich Teuton, in the early morning hours last June 11, officers were dispatched to a reported burglary at a residence on Cunot-Cataract Road.

The reporting party advised that the suspects had fled his home after he discharged his firearm. Once officers arrived at the residence, they immediately began processing the scene and collecting evidence. Over the next five months, information concerning the suspects trickled in and ultimately officers obtained arrest warrants for the two suspects.

Owen County Prosecutor Don VanDerMoere advised that Campbell admitted during the sentencing hearing that he committed the burglary along with his co-defendant, Corbin Farley, 18, Poland.

Campbell provided a detailed account regarding the planning and execution phases of the burglary. As a result of his plea, Campbell was sentenced to 10 years at the Department of Correction with three years executed and the remaining time suspended to probation. Terms of probation include paying restitution, attending and completing counseling, performing community service and testifying against his co-defendant.

VanDerMoere issued a reminder that criminal charges are only allegations and that co-defendant Farley is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Farley is facing two Level 2 felony charges, robbery while armed with a deadly weapon and burglary while armed with a deadly weapon, along with battery, a Level 5 felony, and theft, a Level 6 felony.

The victim in the case was awakened to noises inside his home. Arming himself with a handgun, he proceeded to investigate the source of the noise and encountered an armed male subject in the hallway, reportedly Farley, as he left his bedroom.

A struggle ensued between the homeowner and intruder. After several shots were fired by the homeowner, the suspect was able to disarm the victim after physically assaulting him, resulting in an injury to the homeowner’s head. The intruder then ran down the stairs and out of the house with firearms he had stolen from the home.

The intruders reportedly gained access to the residence by pushing in a window air conditioner.

During the initial response and on scene investigation, detectives were able to discover several pieces of evidence that helped determine there was a second intruder inside the home at the time the crime was committed. That second person was later determined to be Campbell.