Martinsville man allegedly linked to local crimes

MARTINSVILLE -- Several felony charges have been filed against a Martinsville man in connection with Putnam County crimes.

Donald E. Lowe III, 27, has been charged in Putnam County Circuit Court with Class B felony burglary, Class D felony theft and two counts of Class D felony auto theft. Lowe is currently incarcerated at the Morgan County Jail. He was arrested there in early July and charged with four counts of Class D felony auto theft and receiving stolen auto parts, Class D felony receiving stolen property and Class A misdemeanor possession of marijuana, hashish or hash oil.

A pretrial for Lowe's Morgan County case is set for Aug. 17.

According to court documents, Lowe and his girlfriend Amber Turner, 23, of Martinsville were arrested on a Morgan County warrant for possession of a 1996 Cadillac Sedan Deville that had been stolen from a Putnam County residence in late June. The owners of that vehicle also reported that a whiskey bottle containing at least $10 in coins and a jewelry box containing several pieces of jewelry were stolen from their residence that day.

After Lowe and Turner were arrested, officers searched the couple's residence.

"During the search we recovered a camouflage face cover which was similar to a camouflage face cover used by an individual who robbed the (Cloverdale First National Bank) on April 6, 2009," a narrative prepared by Indiana State Police Trooper Brian Maudlin said. "We also discovered the owner's manual for a Cadillac Sedan Deville."

Further investigation turned up check books belonging to the individuals who lived at the house in Cloverdale the Cadillac was stolen from, Maudlin's report said.

After police interviewed Turner, they found a 2003 Dodge pickup truck that had been reported stolen to the Cloverdale Police Deparmtent on July 3 parked near Turner and Lowe's residence.

"(Turner) stated that she was dating Donald Lowe and they were living together in an apartment in Martinsville," court documents said. "She stated that she was aware that Donald Lowe had stolen multiple vehicles."

Turner also told police that Lowe and another woman "had robbed a house in Greencastle or Cloverdale and stole guns." Turner went on to say that Lowe "took those guns and a stereo system to Indianapolis and traded them for rims and cash."

Turner was charged in Morgan County with Class D felonies receiving stolen auto parts and receiving stolen property and three counts of auto theft and receiving stolen parts. She will be in court Friday for an initial hearing.

Police attempted to interview Lowe several times, court documents said, but Lowe refused to answer any questions or admit that he had been involved in any burglaries or auto thefts.

No Putnam County court dates have been set for Lowe, and he has not been charged in connection with the Cloverdale bank robbery.

Lowe's Putnam County criminal history includes a 2002 conviction for Class C felony burglary for which he was sentenced to four years in prison and four years of probation. After two probation violations, Lowe was ordered to serve the rest of his term in prison.

Lowe was then placed on community corrections in May 2006, only to violate the terms of his house arrest four months later. His term of home detention was extended, and a second petition to revoke his community corrections placement was filed in October 2006. The balance of Lowe's suspended sentence was reinstated.

Lowe was also arrested on charges of Class B felony and Class C felony child molesting in September of 2000. He bonded out of jail after his arrest, but that bond was revoked on Jan. 25, 2001. After a mistrial and Lowe's guilty plea to the 2002 burglary charge, the molestation charges were dismissed, along with Class C felony forgery and Class D felony theft charges from another case.