Indianapolis, Indiana – Theft charges have been brought against an Indianapolis Republican mayoral candidate.
John Couch is charged with stealing metal from Plainfield’s Basset Heating and Cooling. A Plainfield police officer was dispatched to Basset, where they found Couch with metal in his pick-up vehicle, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The policeman claimed to have seen Couch attempting to load a water heater into the truck’s bed. He told Couch to come over, and then he handcuffed Couch.
Couch said that he picks up scrap metal in the neighborhood and had just picked up a furnace from another place when the officer questioned him why he was taking the metal. The officer claimed that when asked if he had the authorization to take the metal objects, Couch sidestepped the query.
After speaking with Basset’s owner, the officer discovered that Couch was not authorized to be on the property or to take anything from the dumpster or the area around it.
The officer then informed Couch that he was trespassing and that Basset owned the metal that he was removing. Following then, the proprietor of Basset made the decision to accuse Couch.
The two misdemeanor accusations that Couch is facing are trespassing and stealing.
The bench trial in his case is scheduled for May 24.
