Police: Muncie man shot after trying to steal vehicle

MUNCIE, Ind. — City police said a Muncie man was shot Wednesday after he allegedly tried to steal a car.

Branden Dane Harless, 23 — who suffered a gunshot wound in one of his arms — was also arrested.

According to an affidavit, officers were sent to a reported shooting at a home in the 2000 block of South Burlington Drive about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

A person living at that address — a corrections officer at an Indiana prison — said he was letting his vehicle warm up in his detached garage before leaving for work.

When he went out to get into the car, he allegedly found Harless in the garage, "messing" with the vehicle.

More: Investigation of robbery leads to arrests of Muncie men

The man said Harless produced a handgun and pointed it at him, telling him to "give him his car."

However, Harless then fled from the garage, the man said, adding that he then removed his own handgun from his vehicle and followed the intruder into an alley.

At that point, he told police, Harless "stopped, turned toward him and pointed his handgun at him."

The car owner fired a single shot at Harless, striking him in the arm, according to the court document.

He then took possession of Harless' gun and unloaded it, the man told officers.

Harless — who was treated at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital before being taken to the Delaware County Jail — continued to be held Thursday under a $70,000 cash bond.

He is preliminarily charged with burglary while armed with a deadly weapon, robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, intimidation, pointing a firearm and attempted auto theft. The Delaware County prosecutor's office will determine what formal charges might be filed.

Harless is prohibited from possessing firearms due to his criminal record, which includes a 2018 conviction for armed robbery.

He was charged this week with theft in a Delaware Circuit Court 1 case stemming from events alleged to have taken place in November.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie police: Would-be car thief shot, arrested