HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – According to the Madisonville Police Department, Elijah Shirley was taken into custody after allegedly breaking into a trailer.
Police say that officers responded to a complaint about a break-in at a trailer park on Dulin Street. Allegedly, one of the responding officers recognized Shirley as someone they had arrested earlier that day for trespassing and shoplifting. The landlord told officers that they had screwed the door to the trailer shut, and that no one was allowed in. Officers noted that the doorjamb looked like it had been kicked in.
While searching the inside of the trailer, officers say they found a mattress and several items that Shirley had been spotted with earlier that day, which included a baseball cap with a Confederate flag on it and a Christmas card.
Authorities say they then spoke with Shirley, who denied breaking in, claiming that he was staying with a woman who lived in another trailer in the area. He also claimed to have permission to enter the trailers on the property and alleged he was working on the one that was broken into. Both the woman and the landlord denied Shirley’s claims.
Shirley is currently being held in the Hopkins County Jail. He is facing charges of Criminal Trespassing, Burglary and Criminal Mischief.
