HANCOCK COUNTY — An Indianapolis man is facing theft, burglary and other charges after officials say he stole items while going through a church in Fortville.
William Cox, 71, 5400 block of Drum Road, has been charged with a Level 5 felony count of burglary and three different Level 6 felony counts of theft and identity deception. His case was opened in Hancock County Circuit Court on Aug. 30. Cox is scheduled to make his initial appearance in court Thursday, Sept. 7.
According to a probable cause affidavit, officials from the Fortville Police Department were called to at Mercy Road Church, 611 Vitality Drive, Fortville in late August where a woman told officials she was missing her wallet and a makeup bag. The woman stated she had left her purse in the church office, on the floor next to her desk.
The woman told officials she looked at surveillance footage from the church’s camera system and could see an unidentified male (later identified as William Cox) enter the building on Aug. 15.
The affidavit said Cox could be seen on video wandering around the building, going to various areas in the building including the kitchen, restroom and the church office.
“He can clearly be seen rifling through a bag on the floor and can be seen looking at other areas of the space,” the affidavit said.
The woman noted she was missing her wallet, bank debit cards and other things inside of her purse. She also noted there were many fraud charges on her accounts with evidence of unauthorized debit and credit card transactions. The transactions, the report noted, appeared to be for things at food stores and for gas.
Officials were able to find Cox through his vehicle, which they were able to identify through surveillance video. It was also video surveillance that helped officials identify Cox making unauthorized transactions, the report stated.
Officials noted in the report Cox has a pending theft charge in Hamilton County as well as a previous theft charge in Marion County. Officials also learned of a second victim from the church, they noted in the report. Another woman’s purse had been rifled through during the time Cox was in the building. She reported missing $200 in cash which had been received from officiating a wedding, the affidavit said.
