At approximately 6:25 a.m. Friday, Boone County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to 6110 North State Road 39 for a report of an intruder with a firearm inside the residence.
Upon arrival, deputies contacted the owner of the property, Steve Huckleberry. who stated he picked up two male subjects and drove them to his residence to sell a vehicle to them. The transaction was not completed and he drove them back to Lebanon. Once in town, he reported that the subjects attempted to rob him at gunpoint. He was able to escape and drove home.
As he arrived, he reportedly saw a subject wearing a mask and sunglasses, with a shotgun, in his bedroom. He called 911 and reported that his 14-year-old daughter was in the house as well. Arriving law enforcement secured the scene and gathered information from Huckleberry.
The Boone Special Response Team and Crisis Negotiation Team were activated. Contact was made with the juvenile daughter, she exited the residence, and was interviewed by investigators. The Boone County Special Response Team attempted to contact anyone in the residence with no response. Entry was made and a search of the residence was completed. No one was located. Currently, there is no evidence that an intruder was ever in the home, nor was there any threat to family members. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the incident.
Sheriff Nielsen stated “We are fortunate that the outcome of this particular incident was one where no one was hurt. It is unfortunate that this incident either did not occur or there is much more to the story than we are being told. Our public safety personnel respond to every call in an emergent status and it puts these officers in harm’s way. We take every call seriously and our investigators will get to the bottom of this call in due time. When we do, we will hold that person(s) responsible for their actions.”
The incident forced authorities to shut down State Road 39 at State Road 47 for an extended period of time.