NORTH VERNON -
It's a starteling example of addiction and betrayal. A 63 year old woman bound, gagged and threatened with a knife during a home invasion, and her grandson is allegedly responsible.
It happened in a subdivision oustide North Vernon in Jennings County. The Jennings County sheriff says James Smith, 17, entered his grandmother's home with another teen, and allegedly took two cell phones and more than $1,600 of prescription narcotics.
Judy Burney, 63, says her grandson was motivated by addiction, and she's hurt but not surprised.
"That guy grabbing me like that, I can't get that feeling out of my head," she said.
Judy says it will take a long time for the emotional and physical bruises to heal after the events that unfolded inside her home Thursday morning. A young man knocked at her door saying he ran out of gas and needed to use a phone, but, after she let him in, he forced her to the floor.
"He kept telling me, 'I've got a knife to your throat. Do as I tell you and I won't kill you,'" Judy said.
Shortly after she was taken to the ground, Judy says someone else came in through the front door and went straight to the back bedroom where she keeps her prescription medication. She didn't see the other teen, but she says she immediately knew it was her grandson.
"I remember saying, 'This is Jay. This is Jay,'" she said.
Judy raised 17 year old James "Jay" Smith from the age of five. She says her grandson has been in and out of group addiction centers and, in the past, he had stolen the prescription narcotics patches she wears to treat a chronic nerve disease.
"I can't understand it," she said.
Deputies caught up with Jay at about 10:30 Thursday night in Scott County.
"He had the cell phones on him and also had some of the prescription medication still on him," said Major Jerry Shepherd with the Jennings County Sheriff's Department. "And at the same time during the arrest he admitted to it."
Though Judy says she's glad her grandson is now custody, she says it also means the emotional bruises may never heal.
"What did I do wrong? I felt like I did something wrong," Judy said. "I love him to the bottom of my heart, but somebody has got to be able to reach him."
James Smith will be tried as an adult. He is charged with three felonies including robbery, aiding and inducing a crime and criminal confinement. The other teen who forced Judy to the floor was not in custody Saturday. Major Shepherd says he knows who the suspect is and expects an arrest in the coming days.
It happened in a subdivision oustide North Vernon in Jennings County. The Jennings County sheriff says James Smith, 17, entered his grandmother's home with another teen, and allegedly took two cell phones and more than $1,600 of prescription narcotics.
Judy Burney, 63, says her grandson was motivated by addiction, and she's hurt but not surprised.
"That guy grabbing me like that, I can't get that feeling out of my head," she said.
Judy says it will take a long time for the emotional and physical bruises to heal after the events that unfolded inside her home Thursday morning. A young man knocked at her door saying he ran out of gas and needed to use a phone, but, after she let him in, he forced her to the floor.
"He kept telling me, 'I've got a knife to your throat. Do as I tell you and I won't kill you,'" Judy said.
Shortly after she was taken to the ground, Judy says someone else came in through the front door and went straight to the back bedroom where she keeps her prescription medication. She didn't see the other teen, but she says she immediately knew it was her grandson.
"I remember saying, 'This is Jay. This is Jay,'" she said.
Judy raised 17 year old James "Jay" Smith from the age of five. She says her grandson has been in and out of group addiction centers and, in the past, he had stolen the prescription narcotics patches she wears to treat a chronic nerve disease.
"I can't understand it," she said.
Deputies caught up with Jay at about 10:30 Thursday night in Scott County.
"He had the cell phones on him and also had some of the prescription medication still on him," said Major Jerry Shepherd with the Jennings County Sheriff's Department. "And at the same time during the arrest he admitted to it."
Though Judy says she's glad her grandson is now custody, she says it also means the emotional bruises may never heal.
"What did I do wrong? I felt like I did something wrong," Judy said. "I love him to the bottom of my heart, but somebody has got to be able to reach him."
James Smith will be tried as an adult. He is charged with three felonies including robbery, aiding and inducing a crime and criminal confinement. The other teen who forced Judy to the floor was not in custody Saturday. Major Shepherd says he knows who the suspect is and expects an arrest in the coming days.
