Reese found guilty of nine felonies

Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Paul Reese

A jury took less than two hours to return nine guilty verdicts against an Indianapolis man on Wednesday afternoon.

Paul Reese Jr., 29, was found guilty of nine felonies related to an April 2017 home invasion and robbery in Madison Township.

Reese is the second of four men to stand trial in the case, with Justin Cherry also found guilty in June. Trials for Charles Maybaum and Daltyn Randolph are still to come.

The guilty verdicts are for the same nine crimes of which Cherry, 29, Indianapolis, was convicted — Level 1 felony burglary with serious bodily injury, Level 2 felony burglary, Level 2 felony conspiracy to commit burglary, two counts of Level 3 felony armed robbery, Level 3 felony conspiracy to commit armed robbery, Level 3 felony criminal confinement, Level 6 felony theft and Level 6 felony auto theft.

Those combine for a total maximum sentence time of more than 150 years.

Reese, Maybaum, 32, Indianapolis, and Randolph, 18, Indianapolis, had all faced four additional charges, but those were dropped from this case prior to the trial.

Judge Matthew Headley set Reese’s sentencing hearing for Aug. 2, the same day as Cherry.

That date puts both sentencings ahead of the Maybaum’s Aug. 6 trial date and Randolph’s Aug. 20 date.

Security is likely to be strong around the courthouse for the sentencing hearing, as it was for Reese’s trial this week.

Reese is currently an Indiana Department of Correction inmate for a Marion County conviction from 2017. He is considered a high-risk inmate, therefore the DOC sent its seven-member Special Emergency Response Team to provide security in and around the courthouse on Monday through Wednesday.

As in the Cherry case last month, a big piece of the prosecution case came from cell phone evidence that Reese was in the remote area of Madison Township on April 2, 2017, the night that Terry and Pat McCarter were held at gunpoint for about an hour as four masked gunmen ransacked their homes.

The men made off with prescriptions, checks, jewelry, a rifle, a handgun, a purse, wallet and cash and even the McCarters’ Buick Rendezvous.

Additionally, one of the men struck Terry McCarter in the temple area with the butt of either a rifle or shotgun.

Many of the stolen goods, including the vehicle, were later recovered in Indianapolis, both at the Spann Avenue home where Cherry, among others, is said to have resided, as well as a nearby storage unit linked to Reese and girlfriend Ashley Hillenburg shared.

Hillenberg is also charged in the case with two counts of Level 5 felony corrupt business influence and Class A misdemeanor theft.

Reese, Maybaum, Hillenburg and Emily Nicole Redmon were all charged with multiple felonies for their alleged role in a home invasion in northern Owen County that bears a striking resemblance to the McCarter incident.

Reese also has a pending case in Marion County for drug and handgun possession.

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