Ellettsville - On 2/27/2012 a Smithville Telephone Company Security customer was contacted by a representative from a company claiming to be "Sandlin Security". The representative told the customer they had recently bought out Smithville Security and some upgrades and a check of her system needed to be performed. The customer made an appointment with the representative and then immediately contacted Smithville.

Smithville Security informed the customer they had not been bought out by another company and further indicated they had received similar complaints from their customers regarding this very issue.

On 2/27/2012 just after 10:15 am, Steven Sandlin, 43 of Indianapolis arrived at the customer’s residence and immediately started performing work on the Smithville Security alarm inside the residence. The Indiana State Police and the Ellettsville Police Department made contact with Steven while he was in the customer’s home and he was subsequently arrested for conspiracy to commit theft by deception.

The Indiana State Police reminds all Hoosiers to be vigilant when allowing people into your home for any reason. If you are suspicious for any reason, ask for identification or credentials and if you are still weary, contact your local police immediately.