Search underway for suspects after violent home invasion

Search underway for suspects after violent home invasion

Police have made one arrest following a violent home invasion on Spencer Road in Jeffersonville and continue to look for two persons of interest in the case.

Police arrested Matthew Bolen, who faces robbery and assault charges, and are still looking for Alicia Gabbard and Dustin Moore.

Police spent Friday morning searching an area not far from that home, looking for the suspects.

The search focused around the intersection of Spencer Road and Whitaker Lane, after police say they got a tip.

Police say the suspects were armed with a gun during the home invasion, and the homeowner was injured.

The homeowner, Joe Ballard, says he was trying to recover from a tractor accident he'd had the day before, when the suspects broke in.

"I heard a loud noise," Ballard explained. "They beat me and beat me."

Ballard says the suspects tied him up with duct tape, but he was able to escape. He says he ran to their car and took the keys from the ignition, heading to a neighbor's house for help.

"I started yelling 'call 9-1-1!'"

Ballard says the journey was especially difficult because he'd fractured his back the day before after tumbling his tractor down a hill into a creek. He says he was able to move quickly, despite the pain and back brace.

"I wish them a long, merry prison term."

Police say if you know where Gabbard or Moore are, to give them a call.