Men heard talking about breaking into home, IMPD unable to make arrest


Men heard talking about breaking into home, IMPD unable to make arrest


INDIANAPOLIS — A local college student watched in fear as two men talk about breaking into her home. She was terrified, but even more shocked to learn that the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department couldn’t do anything about it.

“I was just sleeping in my room, and then I woke up to my doorbell going off,” recounted Madison Phillips, a lacrosse player for UIndy. “I watched the ring video from my phone laying in bed, and I was like, ‘That’s a little weird? It’s 1 am?’”

She lives with three other teammates in a house near the campus. After that mystery man knocked on the door several times, he called another person to the door. The first man can be heard on camera telling the second that no one is home, and that he wants to kick the door in. Naturally, Phillips called police.

“I showed them the video. They were like, ‘We just saw that guy walking down the street.’ They went and followed him to his house, and they listened in on his plans to break in and stuff. They were going to kick our door down,” said Phillips.

IMPD says it is legal to knock on a door, even late at night. A person must make an attempt to get inside for an incident to be considered attempted burglary.

“Someone knocking at your door, that is not really considered a burglary or someone trying to break in. That could be someone with the wrong residence,” said IMPD officer William Young, while explaining the nuances of law. “Whenever someone knowingly, or intentionally breaks the threshold of someone’s home uninvited, that would constitute what we call residential entry. It can be trying to get through the door or trying to get through the window.”

Phillips was hoping IMPD may be able to arrest the man on trespassing charges.

“Since we don’t have a ‘no trespassing’ sign they can’t do anything because it’s not implied that I don’t want you to be on my property,” detailed Phillips, adding that they have since put a sign up and more. “My landlord installed a bunch of flood lights. We have new shades. We have all the precautions that we need to take. We have alarms on our windows.”

Should you fall into a similar situation, always call police, and don’t wait until they have made an attempt to get inside. Since the incident, Phillips and her teammates have yet to have the men return.


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