Text message threats lead to Columbus man’s arrest

A Columbus man that police are calling a serious violent felon is facing charges after allegedly threatening a woman in Jennings County.

According to the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department, deputies began investigating the reported threats early on Tuesday morning. Authorities discovered that the woman was receiving messages with death threats from her ex-boyfriend. Those included photos and videos displaying a gun. And while the deputy was on scene, the threatening text messages continued to come in.

Police identified an address on Whippoorwill Drive, in Seymour where the ex is now living and discovered that the man had five outstanding warrants out of Bartholomew County. Jennings and Jackson county deputies as well as Seymour police went to the home and discovered that the man was living in a garage. And despite hearing phone calls from inside, the officers could not get the man to leave the building. Eventually they forced their way into the locked garage.

They found the suspect, 46-year-old Steven Burton hiding under a pile of clothes and garage items. After a brief struggle, he was taken into custody and transported back to Jennings County. After being checked out at the hospital he was arrested on new charges of intimidation with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest, as well as the warrants which included two felony charges of invasion of privacy with a previous conviction.