(ANGOLA) - Jurors deliberated less than an hour on Friday before returning Not Guilty verdicts on all four counts leveled against a former Steuben County Sheriff's Detective. Austin Rowlands, 34, of Fremont, was accused of Level 6 felony official misconduct, Class A misdemeanor criminal mischief with property damage over $750 and two Class B misdemeanors for criminal mischief. DeKalb County Prosecutor Neal Blythe brought the case against Rowlands for his actions during a search warrant on September 20, 2023 at the home of Thomas Hovis on S CR 430 West. Officers from the Steuben County Sheriff's Department and the Auburn Police Department were searching the property for methamphetamine when officers on the scene say Rowlands damaged a television with a Rambo-style hunting knife, used an ax to take out two security cameras, and used the same ax to chop holes in the doors of a pickup truck that was not part of the warrant. Defense attorneys Andrew Duncan and P. Mason Riley argued Rowlands actions were within his rights as a police officer searching for drugs, and did not constitute criminal mischief. Rowlands' supporters cheered and clapped briefly as the not guilty verdicts were announced.