Police: Man arrested in early morning attempted robbery

A man outside smoking early Monday morning had a gun put to his head by a would-be robber who demanded money, police said.

The assailant fled into an apartment nearby, and police ended up breaking down the door to arrest the suspect.

Carl Wayne Burnette, 29, 3119 W. Michigan St., Indianapolis, was arrested on charges of robbery with a deadly weapon and intimidation with a deadly weapon.

The incident happened about 3 a.m. Monday in a parking lot near Jefferson and Jackson streets in downtown Franklin. Two men were outside smoking when a man walked down a staircase on a downtown building, put a gun to the head of one of the men and said “give me all you got,” according to a Franklin Police Department report.

As the victim fought back against the man, two more people came down the stairs and the suspect went back to the apartment with them, the report said.

The victims called 911, picked up the gun that the suspect had left behind and told police that the man was still in the apartment, the report said.

Police got a search warrant and went to the apartment, but the woman inside wouldn’t open the door, the report said. When officers told her they would force their way in, she told them to go ahead, the report said.

Burnette matched the description provided by the victims and had an injury to his forehead and eye, the report said.

He was taken to the Johnson County jail and held without bond because he is also wanted on a warrant from Marion County, where he is charged with possession of a syringe and paraphernalia.