Man accused of entering sorority armed with rifle

Delta Gamma

A Greencastle man was arrested Saturday morning after entering a DePauw University sorority armed with a rifle.

Kent J. Jackson, 45, was later arrested and charged with Level 6 residential entry and Class A misdemeanor unlawful possession of a handgun.

It was later discovered that the rifle in question was stolen from a nearby residence and Jackson was charged in a separate case with Level 4 felony burglary and Level 6 felony theft of a firearm.

On Monday, Putnam County Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter formally filed charges in both cases in Putnam Superior Court.

According to the probable cause affidavit, officers were called to Delta Gamma, 801 S. Locust St., shortly after 8 a.m. on a report of an armed intruder.

Greencastle Police Officer Nick Eastham, Reserve Officer Jason Norman and DePauw Public Safety Officer Robert Carter arrived soon after.

As Eastham and Norman approached the front door, they met Jackson, whom Eastham reported to have a large, nylon rifle case strapped on his back.

When confronted by the officers, Jackson was compliant, handing over the rifle case and allowing himself to be patted down.

Eastham found the AR-15-style rifle, which was not loaded, but also two magazines, one of which had a rifle round, as well as a box of rifle rounds.

Both Eastham and Carter reported that Jackson “appeared to be hearing voices” during their investigation.

Furthermore, students who encountered Jackson inside the sorority told Carter that Jackson had entered their room, telling them not to panic, that he was “here to protect them” and that they would be going to Florida.

Kent Jackson

Jackson also told the officers he was there to protect the women.

The suspect was initially taken to the Putnam County Jail and booked in on a charge of residential entry.

Later on Saturday, GPD Sgt. Brad Hiatt was called to a residence near the sorority house, where the residents reported having missing firearms.

While interviewing the victim, Hiatt recalled the earlier incident, during which a rifle and accessories were recovered from the suspect. The investigation revealed that it was the same firearm.

The victim initially also told Hiatt he was missing a handgun, which officers were unable to locate, even after questioning Jackson about it.

However, the victim later informed Hiatt that the gun had been found at another location in his room.

A Saturday-morning email from the DePauw Campus Incident Management Team informed faculty and staff of the incident, noting that the man had been apprehended and no one was physically harmed.

Counseling services worked with the women in the house and university police increased patrols throughout Saturday.