BEDFORD – A Kentucky man has been charged with burglary and theft in Lawrence County after an investigation into a break-in at a rural property. The charges stem from an incident where a homeowner discovered three men leaving an abandoned house and a camper on their property.
On Friday, August 1, 2025, the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office was called to a property on Boone Hollow Road. A female resident had returned home to find a gray Toyota Corolla with Kentucky plates parked in a field. She saw three men run from a porch and get into the car. After a brief conversation where one of the men claimed they were “going through abandoned houses,” the three drove away. Elliott was able to take a photograph of the vehicle and its license plate.
The male property owner later confirmed that a PlayStation 2 console and 14 games had been stolen from a locked camper. Other items, including old motorcycle helmets, collectibles, an Xbox, and jars of change, were also missing from a nearby abandoned house.
Lawrence County Sheriff Greg Day traced the vehicle to a male in Owensboro, Kentucky, who stated that his son, Branson J. Russell, 21, was the car’s owner. The owner of the care also told the Sheriff that his son “had some type of business where he tried to find… ‘abandoned house clothes’ and then resold them.”
Sheriff Day contacted Branson Russell, who admitted to being at the abandoned house with two friends, Collin Yates and Byron Arnold. Branson initially claimed they took items because they thought the house was abandoned and there was nothing illegal about it.
On August 5, Branson Russell, Collin Yates, and Byron Arnold voluntarily came to the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office for interviews. They returned a tote bag containing a PlayStation, games, and several articles of old clothing and hats, claiming these were the only items they took. All three men confessed to entering the abandoned house without permission and stealing items. However, they denied entering the camper or taking the other missing items, such as the X-Box, helmets, and change jars.
Following the investigation, Sheriff Day requested a warrant for Branson Russell. He has been charged with two counts of burglary of a structure, a Level 5 felony (for the abandoned house and camper), and theft, a Class A misdemeanor. He was transported to the Lawrence County Jail on September 16.
The recovered items, valued at less than $750 in total, have been returned to the homeowner.
All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This article is based on the information provided in the Probable Cause Affidavit and does not represent a final determination of guilt or innocence.
