Two men, one juvenile accused in Floyd Township home invasion

Jaxson Duke and Cole Strandberg

Two Greencastle men are accused of four felonies after they allegedly broke into a Floyd Township home Wednesday, battered a man and stole several items.

Jaxson W. Duke, 19, and Cole A. Strandberg, 19, were booked in the Putnam County Jail Wednesday evening on charges of robbery, burglary causing bodily injury, battery and residential entry.

Also taken into custody was a 15-year-old male from Brazil.

Deputy Brian Helmer told the Banner Graphic the victims knew the suspects, as they had been hanging out the night before.

At some point between Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon, Duke discovered his wallet was missing and believed one of the victims had stolen it.

Early Wednesday afternoon, Duke, Strandberg and the juvenile drove to the home on County Road 300 North southwest of Heritage Lake that the victims share with their grandparents.

The suspects knocked on the door, and when no one answered, they allegedly kicked it down.

Finding one of the victims, 19-year-old Dalton Post, sleeping, they allegedly attacked him, leaving him bloodied, with a goose egg on his head.

Before fleeing the scene, Duke, Strandberg and the juvenile are accused of taking two televisions, Post’s tennis shoes and a wallet.

There was a delay in notifying police, as the victims first notified their grandparents. However, Helmer was called to the scene at 3:15 p.m.

Upon learning that one of the suspects was Duke, Helmer had Putnam County Dispatch put out an alert to police to be on the lookout for his vehicle.

Greencastle Police Sgt. Ed Wilson, also familiar with Duke, immediately went to check a Round Barn Manor apartment Duke is known to frequent.

Seeing the vehicle leaving the apartment complex, Wilson subsequently made a traffic stop at Indianapolis Road and Longcastle Drive.

Once the three men were detained and read their Miranda rights, they told the officers they had just dropped off the stolen items at a Round Barn apartment.

Upon the arrival of officers, the resident of the apartment let them in and told them she knew nothing of what the men had dropped off in the apartment. She is not being charged.

The televisions and shoes, though not the wallet, were located in the apartment.

While Duke and Strandberg remain housed at the Putnam County Jail, the 15-year-old was transported to a juvenile detention facility.

Helmer noted that the fact that someone was injured in the admission of the crime added the robbery and battery charges, as well as pushing the burglary charge from a Level 4 felony to a Level 3 felony.

The case will be turned over to the Putnam County Prosecutor’s Office for a final decision on formal charges.