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Last updated on Wednesday, October 12, 2016
(BLOOMINGTON) - A registered sex offender was arrested Tuesday afternoon for the beating death of 66-year-old Donald Gentry.
According to Monroe County Sheriff Brad Swain, police arrested 63-year-old John Henry Griffin on a preliminary charge of murder. Griffin is currently on parole and is homeless. He was arrested Tuesday at Shalom Community Center. Police questioned Griffin, obtained a search warrant for his possessions and booked him into the Monroe County Jail.
Police identified Griffin as a possible suspect two weeks after the murder.
"Potentially significant items of evidence have been found, and Griffin's automobile has been seized for future forensic examination by the Indiana State Police Crime Lab," Swain stated in a press release.
Gentry's girlfriend found him dead on the floor of his mobile home on September 12 at 4537 S. Old Ind. 37. He suffered so many blows to his head and face that an exact number of injuries could not be determined during an autopsy.
Gentry had a history of drug arrests in Monroe and Morgan counties, including recent convictions for meth-related charges. Police says Gentry was still involved in dealing drugs and believe Griffin went to the home to buy drugs, with the intention of robbing Gentry of meth and prescription drugs leading to the murder.
Narcotics investigators who were also called to the murder scene discovered prescription drugs and meth in Gentry's mobile home.
Court records indicate Griffin was charged with child molesting in Shelby County in 1995, but the charge was dismissed. Then, in 1997, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty in Bartholomew County to sexual misconduct with a minor.
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