GREENFIELD, Ind. – Two Lebanon residents have been arrested and charged in connection with a 2024 burglary at the Greenfield Papa John’s Pizza, according to police and court records.
Matthew E. Stephens II, 26, faces a Level 5 felony charge of burglary for allegedly breaking into the pizza shop located at 1001 North State Street on Feb. 2, 2024. His alleged accomplice, Kalista N. Smith, also 26, is charged with aiding, inducing, or causing a burglary, also a Level 5 felony.
Stephens and Smith were both arrested last week and appeared for their initial hearings in Hancock County Superior Court I on July 7. Judge D.J. Davis set Stephens’ bond at $10,000 cash and ordered him to return for a pretrial hearing on July 30. Smith received a $2,500 cash bond and has the same court date.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Greenfield Police responded to the Papa John’s burglary early Feb. 2 and discovered that $400 had been taken from the safe and $50 from the register. Entry appeared to have been made by force through the rear of the building.
Store officials identified Stephens—a former employee who had recently been terminated—as a potential suspect. They also noted that two other Papa John’s locations in Indiana, one in Pendleton (Jan. 22) and another in Frankfort (Feb. 1), had also been burglarized in similar fashion.
Surveillance and investigative work revealed Stephens breaking in by throwing a brick through an entry point, police said. Investigators traced the getaway vehicle to a Pendleton man, who identified both Stephens and Smith as his former roommates and former coworkers at the Pendleton Papa John’s.
Additional evidence, including surveillance video and transaction records, placed Stephens and Smith in Speedway, Indiana, just after the burglary on Feb. 2, where they were seen getting gas and making purchases around 4 a.m.
As of now, neither suspect has been charged in the other burglaries, but the investigation is ongoing.
