Daniel Prince
Man charged with burglary, malicious damage, and meth possession
A Union man was caught in the act of burglary at a downtown building Saturday night. Cpl. Matthew Voiselle responded along with other city units to 108 West Main Street for a possible break-in of a storage room.
Upon arrival, the victim stated he came to his storage room earlier in the evening to get some decorations for a party at Main Street Junction. He said he padlocked the room before he left. When he returned later that evening, he noticed the padlock on the door had been broken off. He stated he called 911 and did not go in.
City units went inside the storage room, announced their presence, and said for anyone present to make themselves known. Voiselle noticed a yellow flashlight laying on the ground. The flashlight had the initials M.T.K. on it. Upon further inspection, units found fresh footprints in the dirt. Voiselle began moving bags and boxes around to make sure no one was underneath. He then saw a man trying to conceal himself underneath some bags. Voiselle observed what appeared to be a knife attached to the man, and he could not see the subject’s hands.
Voiselle drew his service weapon and told the man to slowly produce his hands from underneath the bags. The man did so, and Voiselle saw they were empty, so he holstered his service weapon and handcuffed the subject. The man was frisked for weapons. While frisking him, a camera bag that was attached to his waist by the bag strap was confiscated.
The subject was identified as 51-year-old Michael Todd Knox. Knox was escorted out of the storage room and searched more thoroughly. Officers found a knife, a sharpening stone, and multiple hand tools on Knox’s person. Inside the camera bag, they found another bag containing a glass pipe commonly used to smoke methamphetamine, along with a black pouch. The pouch contained a pill box containing a small plastic bag with a white crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine.
The victim said nothing appeared to be missing, though numerous items were ransacked, and three glass vases were now broken. They were valued at $22 each. The padlock was valued at $7. $73 in restitution will be sought from Knox for the damage. Knox was arrested and charged with second-degree burglary, malicious damage, and possession of methamphetamine. Knox will be ticketed for possession of drug paraphernalia.