A Cromwell man was sentenced to 5-1/2 years Tuesday for a string of burglaries last summer.
David A. Huffenberger, 50, of 9660 E. Pixie Parkway, Cromwell, appeared Tuesday before Kosciusko Superior Court III Judge Joe Sutton and was convicted of burglary, a Level 5 felony, and sentenced to three years; theft, a Class A misdemeanor, and sentenced to 12 months, all suspended to formal probation; and auto theft, a Level 6 felony, and sentenced to 18 months, with six months executed and 12 months suspended to probation.
Huffenberger will serve his time at the Kosciusko County Jail pending his acceptance in the work release program. If he does not qualify, he will likely be sent to the Indiana Department of Corrections.
He has accrued 427 days of jail time credit and must pay $1,303.70 in restitution to one of his victims.
According to the probable cause affidavit in the case, Huffenberger was originally charged with two counts of burglary, one being a Level 4 felony, along with two auto theft charges. Those charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
In May 2019, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a report of a burglary where the man told police someone had broken into his home after stealing a lockbox that contained a key to his house.
Missing from the man’s home was a TV, a coffeemaker and an aluminum row boat.
The following day, police responded to a business where the owner said someone had broken into the business and taken three sets of vehicle keys along with a van. The business owner told police he suspected Huffenberger, because he had just recently filed a police report against Huffenberger for making threats to another employee.
Huffenberger used to work at the business, according to the affidavit, and had recently been fired.
Three days after these two burglaries, police again were called to the business where another vehicle was missing.
Police were able to locate the van sitting outside of Huffenberger’s home, according to court papers. The stolen pickup was seen and reported to police by employees of a salvage yard, who provided police with receipts of Huffenberger using the stolen pickup to bring in scrap to sell, including the stolen aluminum row boat.
In court Tuesday, Huffenberger said his life was “a real mess back then. I’ve never been a thief, and I feel horrible for these people.”
