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Indiana neighbors trap intruder in cellar, post photos to Facebook

ELIZABETH, Ind. — An Indiana man who allegedly walked through several unlocked homes was trapped and detained by several neighbors until authorities arrived, police said.

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Khristian Edward Durbin, 21, of Elizabeth, was charged with three counts of breaking and entering, three counts of criminal trespassing, one count of resisting arrest and one count of attempting to bribe law enforcement officers, according to Harrison County online court records.

According to police, Durbin allegedly walked into the homes while residents were inside, even giving them fist bumps as strolled through the residences, WDRB reported.

Kathy Hensley, who owns the 1819 General Store, told the television station she noticed someone suspicious outside around 9:30 a.m. EDT on Monday.

“About 30 minutes later, Misty got a call that somebody broke into her house and I said ‘Did he look like this, did he have a black backpack on?’” Hensley told WDRB. “And she said, ‘Yeah,’ and I said, ‘I know where he was,’ so that’s when we took off to go find him.”

According to the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, after Durbin broke into the two homes he ran across the street and went into the cellar of a third home.

Several neighbors then took matters into their own hands.

“I pulled up and he had just gotten in and I was like, ‘I don’t want him getting out,’ so I jumped up on top of (the cellar door),” Jennifer Day told WDRB. “Then he started hitting it with his shoulder and that is when everybody else jumped on it.”

Someone in the group called 911 and a photo was taken and posted on Facebook, the television station reported.

Deputy Chief Mike Kurz of the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department said Durbin offered deputies money in order to stay out of jail, according to WDRB. He first offered deputies $1,000, then $2,000 then finally $5,000, the television station reported.

“He did say that he was looking for an old girlfriend or something like that,” Kurz said. “His story was very convoluted and didn’t really make a lot of sense.”