PHELPS, Ky. — A Pike County man is in jail after police say he broke into a dead man’s home and stole several items.
An arrest warrant accuses Nicholas Pruitt, 49, of Phelps, of breaking into a home on Route 194 June 15 and taking several items, including a shotgun and string trimmer. Police say Pruitt broke the front door to gain entry to the home, and when a state trooper spotted him, he ran away.
The next day, police found Pruitt at a home on Abe’s Branch, in Phelps, and arrested him for second-degree burglary, criminal mischief and fleeing police. While he was being arrested, he reportedly told police that he knew the man who owned the home had died and nobody was staying there, so he went inside on two occasions and took food, clothes and other items.
Pruitt was arrested and booked in the Pike County jail, where he is being held on a $2,000 cash bond.
