Bloomington Man Hid Under Stairs After Stolen Package Led to Drug, Gun Haul

A stolen Amazon package along South Curry Pike in Bloomington set off a chain of events that ended with a 33-year-old man discovered hiding under a staircase, tucked inside wall insulation, as troopers searched his property for drugs and weapons. Kory Kleinow now faces a long list of preliminary felony charges after what began as a routine porch piracy complaint turned into a sprawling criminal case.

According to Fox 59, the case started when someone reported the theft of an Amazon package along South Curry Pike, per Indiana State Police. A photo of the suspect's license plate allowed troopers to identify Kleinow and track him to his Bloomington residence, leading investigators from Indiana State Police District 33, the state police post that covers Monroe County and the surrounding south-central Indiana area.

When officers arrived, they didn't just find a stolen package. Indiana State Police reported finding a burn pile that was still warm to the touch, and investigators believe Kleinow and a woman had burned what troopers believed was a box near a barn on the property. Officers also located a stolen trailer parked on the property, giving them the probable cause needed to seek a search warrant for the residence.

A Search Warrant Uncovers Far More Than a Package

Once Indiana State Police and Ellettsville Police Department officers executed the search warrant, the case widened considerably. Officers seized plates covered in a white-crystallized substance that presumptively tested as methamphetamine, along with syringes, scales, prescription pills, and naloxone. They also recovered an electric bicycle that had previously been reported stolen to the Ellettsville Police Department, according to the same report.

Investigators seized two firearms during the search, including a sawed-off shotgun. Kleinow himself was found hiding under the stairs in insulation before he was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Monroe County Jail, the outlet reported.

A Long List of Preliminary Felony Charges

Kleinow faces preliminary charges spanning drug possession, weapons, theft, and obstruction. Those include possession of methamphetamine with an enhancement as a Level 4 felony, possession of a narcotic drug with an enhancement as a Level 5 felony, possession of a syringe as a Level 6 felony, and possession of a legend drug as a Level 6 felony. He also faces obstruction of justice as a Level 6 felony, possession of stolen property, theft or conversion as a Level 6 felony, maintaining a common nuisance as a Class B misdemeanor, and possession of paraphernalia as a Class A misdemeanor due to a prior offense.

The enhancements attached to the drug charges are significant. Under Indiana Code § 35-48-4-6.1, possession of methamphetamine is ordinarily a Level 6 felony, but it becomes a Level 4 felony carrying two to 12 years in prison when the amount falls between 10 and 28 grams, or between 3 and 10 grams alongside an aggravating factor such as a firearm, according to Justia Law. A similar mechanism applies to the narcotic drug charge: under Indiana Code § 35-48-4-6, that offense typically starts as a Level 6 felony but rises to a Level 5 felony punishable by one to six years when the weight or an enhancing circumstance meets certain thresholds, per FindLaw.

Firearm and Obstruction Charges Add to the Exposure

The sawed-off shotgun found on the property carries its own weight in Kleinow's case. Indiana Code § 35-31.5-2-282 and § 35-50-2-13 define an illegal sawed-off shotgun as one with a barrel under 18 inches or an overall length under 26 inches, and possessing one during certain felony offenses can add up to an additional 10 years of imprisonment, according to Justia Law's analysis of the statute.

The alleged burning of the package box also carries legal consequences beyond the original theft. Indiana Code § 35-44.1-2-2 makes it a Level 6 felony, punishable by up to 2.5 years in prison, to alter, damage, or destroy physical evidence with intent to keep it from being used in a criminal investigation — the statute behind Kleinow's obstruction charge, per Justia Law's breakdown of the law. Separately, the legend drug charge stems from Indiana Code § 35-43-10-3, which makes possessing or delivering a prescription drug without a valid medical order a Level 6 felony punishable by six months to 2.5 years.

A Repeat Pattern of Drug-Related Arrests

This isn't Kleinow's first brush with drug charges in the area. In March 2025, Kleinow, then 32, was arrested in neighboring Owen County on preliminary charges including probation violation, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of paraphernalia, according to The Owen News. That earlier case establishes a pattern of law enforcement contact involving drugs and probation violations well before this month's arrest in Monroe County.

The theft charges tied to the stolen trailer, e-bike, and package also carry their own statutory thresholds. Under Indiana Code § 35-43-4-2, stealing property worth less than $750 is generally a Class A misdemeanor, but theft of property valued between $750 and $50,000 — or theft committed by someone with a prior theft conviction — becomes a Level 6 felony, per Justia Law. Separately, the nuisance charge stems from Indiana Code § 35-45-1-5, which makes knowingly maintaining a building used for the unlawful keeping of controlled substances or paraphernalia a Class B misdemeanor or Level 6 felony depending on the circumstances.

Package theft itself is common nationwide — industry research from SafeWise and Security.org estimates that roughly 104 million packages were stolen across the U.S. in 2025, with about 25% to 31% of American households falling victim to porch piracy each year. But cases like Kleinow's, where a single stolen-package complaint unravels into a wider drug and weapons investigation, remain far from routine. It remains unclear what charges, if any, the 28-year-old woman allegedly involved in burning the box near the barn may face.