Another Newton man arrested in relation to February firearms burglary

Another person has been arrested after three firearms were burglarized from the basement of a Newton home earlier this year. Branden Jones, 39, of Newton has been charged for allegedly trafficking stolen weapons and dominion or control of a firearm or offensive weapon by a domestic abuse offender.

Both charges are considered Class D felonies. Jones was previously convicted of a serious misdemeanor domestic assault in Jasper County in 2006.

In February, a burglary was reported in a Newton home located near Woodrow Wilson Elementary School. Video footage showed evidence of a break-in at a basement egress, which led to the arrest of 22-year-old Blake Logue. A .222 rifle, a .410 bolt-action shotgun and a .410 break-action shotgun were stolen.

Fresh tracks in the snow led to the basement egress. A witness to the burglary admitted they drove Logue to the home and then picked him up afterward. Police noted the witness knew case facts that only a person involved in the crime would know, such as the date, location and the items stolen form the house.

When Logue returned to the vehicle, the witness told police he was in possession of three long gun cases. The witness said they were unaware Logue was burglarizing the residence at the time. Text messages from the witness showed Logue had knowledge and details of the burglary when discussing it.

Officers were able to locate Logue after he was apprehended for an unrelated arrest warrant. A cellular phone was found and seized. Police believed it would contain evidence of the burglary and applied for a search warrant. With the warrant granted, police searched the phone’s text message history.

Police located a message where Logue attempted to trade a bolt-action .410 shotgun. He was also asked the “year and model of mine” by another suspect. Logue responded by sending three photos of the .410 bolt-action shotgun. The victim’s family confirmed the photos of the shotgun matched their stolen firearm.

Logue was subsequently charged with third-degree burglary (Class D felony), second-degree burglary (Class C felony), three counts of trafficking stolen weapons (Class D felony) and three counts of a domestic abuser in possession of firearms (Class D felony).

According to criminal complaints obtained by Newton News, Logue was asked by cellphone message by another suspect: “What’s the year and model of mine?” Police allege this other suspect was Jones. Logue responded by sending three photos of a .410 bolt-action shotgun to Jones.

When Jones was arrested on an unrelated warrant, a Samsung tablet was seized from him. Criminal complaints say Jones gave consent to police to search the tablet for information about this case. A message was located in the tablet where Jones stated he was cleaning a gun.

Logue admitted to police he aided and abetted Jones with the burglary where three firearms were stolen.