North Webster man and his dog invades an Albion home, held at gunpoint

ALBION, Ind. (WANE) - A couple in Noble County had a couple of unwanted visitors inside their bathroom early Sunday morning.

Steve Earnhart and his wife said living out in the country in Noble County is peaceful. Earnhart said he realized something was out of place Sunday around 4 a.m. when he left his room.

"Just walked out to my bathroom, and just as I was ready, I knew the door was shut, and that's unusual," he said.

It didn't take long for him to discover something was completely wrong.

""There's a little dog inside there started barking and raising heck. And I thought, I know that wasn't my dog," Earnhart said.

According to Earnhart, his 9 year old dog slept through the whole ordeal. Once he heard the dog was barking, he looked out his window. He saw a car that didn't belong in his driveway, so he immediately knew someone was inside the bathroom. He figured based on where the car was parked, the man and his dog came through the back door.

He went back to his room to tell his wife. She then called 911 while he grabbed his shot gun from his bedroom and a loaded pistol from his home office. He went back to the bathroom door and told the intruder he was armed.

"He said his name, I said 'I don't know you,' and he said he was in there using my bathroom. I said 'the cops are coming, do not come out that door.'"

Police arrested Paul Ervin Pemberton, 57, of North Webster. Earnhart said Pemberton's wife came and picked up the dog.

Earnhart believes Pemberton was after drugs because the medicine cabinet was ransacked.

Pemberton has been charged with residential entry and is being held in the Noble County Jail on a $4,500 bond.