Man facing 5 theft charges

A Greenwood man has been charged with theft in three counties after police said he repeatedly stole televisions from stores around Indianapolis.

Jeremiah Phelps, 39, 107 Ursal Lane, was charged with theft in Johnson, Hancock and Hendricks counties. In total, he currently faces five felony and misdemeanor theft charges, according to court records.

Police around central Indiana had been investigating multiple reports of a man stealing TVs from Walmart stores, and leaving in a waiting pickup truck.

In January, Phelps was arrested at Walmart, located at 1133 N. Emerson Ave. in Greenwood, after an employee called police to report a suspicious vehicle parked outside, which matched the description of a vehicle used in multiple thefts, according to court records.

At the same time, employees inside the store were watching a man walking around carrying a TV. When he walked outside with the TV, Phelps was arrested, the report said. He was later charged with one felony count of theft.

Phelps told police he had been stealing TVs from different Walmart stores around Indianapolis, and then trading them for drugs, the report said.

Once Phelps was arrested, police in other communities checked to see if he matched the description of the person who had been stealing TVs from Walmart locations there, and he did.

Police in Danville found Phelps matched the description of a man who had loaded a TV into a cart, walked out the emergency exit, loaded the TV into a vehicle and left on Dec. 28, according to court records.

Phelps was charged with one misdemeanor count of theft and one felony charge of theft with a prior conviction, according to court records.

In Greenfield, police found Phelps matched the description of a man who had stolen a television from Wal-Mart in December, according to court records.

Televisions were stolen on Dec. 12 and Dec. 20. In both cases, a man loads the TV into a cart, leaves through an emergency exit and loads the TV into a waiting truck and then leaves, the report said.

Police learned of Phelps’ arrest in Greenwood and found he matched the description of the man in one theft, and that his truck matched the description of the one used in both thefts, according to court records.

Phelps was charged with two counts of theft with a prior conviction.

He was convicted of theft in Johnson County in 2014, court records said.