INCIDENTS
City:
Friday, 2:17 p.m., residence on North Oak Street Extended. Caller reported unauthorized transactions on her debit card.
Friday, 5:24 p.m., residence in the 300 block of West Miller Street. Loud verbal altercation between a man and a woman at the residence. Officers responded. Argument was reportedly about the male half wanting to get a protective order against the female half. Situation calmed. Female half warned for disorderly conduct.
Friday, 5:42 p.m., residence on Sunset Drive. Caller reported two dogs nearly attacked a child. Officer responded and spoke with the dog owner who said the dogs got loose by accident. The owner was informed the dogs must stay on the owner’s property.
Friday, 6:16 p.m., apartment in the 200 block of North Bond Street. Caller reported a strange man was on the caller’s porch and was refusing to leave. Officer responded and located the man, who reportedly had walked away from the Praxis treatment center on West Lancaster Street. The man was taken to Parkview Behavioral Health in Fort Wayne.
Friday, 6:51 p.m., residence on North Oak Street. Devon James Shultz was taken into custody at the residence on a parole retake warrant.
Friday, 7:20 p.m., Bluffton Regional Medical Center, 303 S. Main St. Officers requested at the emergency room for a man who had been medically cleared and released but was declining to leave the emergency room lobby. He was told by a doctor he could stay for awhile but by 1:38 a.m. Saturday he had apparently over-extended his welcome. He was transported to Parkview Behavioral Health in Fort Wayne.
Friday, 8:51 p.m., Praxis, 1529 W. Lancaster St. Officers and Wells County EMS dispatched on a report that a patient was attempting self-harm. He was transported to Parkview Behavioral Health.
Friday, 10:50 p.m., residence in the 500 block of East Silver Street. Caller reported her ex-boyfriend tried to enter her residence through a window and damaged the blinds on the window. Caller spoke with an officer. Caller did not wish to pursue the matter further.
Saturday, 4:14 a.m., First Fleet, 594 Decker Drive. Wells County EMS and Bluffton Fire Department first responders called for an 18-year-old male who suffered a ground-level fall and had possibly dislocated his knee.
Saturday, 6:02 a.m., residence in the 300 block of North Marion Street. Caller reported a suspicious man was loitering outside of her residence. Officer arrived and the man left.
Saturday, 7:13 a.m., Pak-A-Sak convenience store, 904 S. Main St. Someone drove away without paying for $51.86 in gas.
Saturday, 2:22 p.m., Main Street at Ind. 124 East. Semi’s rear axle locked up. The driver was able to get the big rig off the road.
Saturday, 4:09 p.m., Bennett Street at Central Avenue. Storm sewer drain cover moved. Officer put it back.
Saturday, 11:01 p.m., Lowe’s Home Improvement, 2105 N. Main St. Burglar alarm. Officers responded. No sign of foul play found.
Sunday, 9:09 a.m., residence in the 900 block of West Market Street. Prescription pain medication reported stolen.
Sunday, 12:51 p.m., Wabash Street at Main Street. Caller reported no one was stopping at the Main and Wabash traffic light since it was out because of the planned power outage for that area.
Sunday, 2:15 p.m., Townley Street at Bennett Street. Report of a stray Labrador-mix dog jumping on children. Officer responded and took the dog to the Wells County Animal Shelter.
Sunday, 6:30 p.m., Praxis substance abuse treatment facility. Report of two male patients fighting and destroying property. Officers responded. No one wished to pursue the matter further.
Monday, 7:36 a.m., residence in the 500 block of South Bennett Street. Officer requested to remove an unwanted man from the residence.
Monday, 9:27 a.m., Bluffton Regional Medical Center, 303 S. Main St. Officers requested to assist in bringing back a patient to the hospital who had left against medical advice.
County:
Friday, 4:28 p.m., Sugar Street at Hendricks Street in Uniondale. Hole developed in the road.
Friday, 11:20 p.m., 300W at Ind. 124. A 2017 Chevrolet Impala was stopped facing south at the intersection. The male driver was slumped over toward the driver’s side door. The vehicle was running, in gear and the driver had his foot on the brake. Wells County EMS, sheriff’s deputies and a state trooper responded. A sheriff’s deputy unlocked the car, put it into park and managed to awaken the driver, identified as Justin R. Gardner, 29, Bluffton. The investigating deputy observed in his report that Gardner smelled of alcohol, exhibited signs of intoxication, failed field sobriety tests and blew a .191 percent alcohol concentration equivalency on a certified breath test — more than two times Indiana’s legal limit for intoxication of .08 percent. Gardner was charged with operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of .15 percent or more, a Class A misdemeanor; operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor; and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Level 6 felony. Bond was set at $5,000. Gardner has a prior conviction in Huntington Superior Court Dec. 9, 2019,
Saturday, 1:24 p.m., 200W near Ind. 218. Pig in the road. Owner contacted to come get the pig.
Saturday, 2:23 p.m., residence on 450E south of Ind. 116. Sheriff’s deputy requested to remove an unwanted woman from the residence.
Saturday, 3 p.m., Covenant Chapel, 3550S-Ind. 1. Burglar alarm. Sheriff’s deputy responded. No sign of foul play found.
Saturday, 4:22 p.m., man riding an all-terrain vehicle on the old Erie-Lackawana Railroad right of way noticed an abandoned side-by-side utility vehicle hidden in the brush and thought it was odd. Sheriff’s deputy responded and discovered the vehicle had been reported stolen from a different county. The vehicle was impounded and the investigation into the incident continues.
Saturday, 7:42 p.m., Country Corner Deli, Liberty Center. Someone on a side-by-side utility vehicle drove off without paying for $32 in gasoline.
Sunday, 8:07 a.m., 100W between 900S and 1000S. Large tree blown down across roadway.
Sunday, 8:27 a.m., residence on Broadway Street in Zanesville. Caller reported her vehicle had been entered during the night. A small amount of cash and a couple bank cards were stolen.
Monday, 9:36 a.m., rural Ossian resident reported that he had been contacted by someone claiming to be from Texas and claiming that a rental car in the name of as rural Ossian man was found in the state and drugs were found in the vehicle. The caller wanted money to “take care” of the matter. A sheriff’s deputy explained that this is a common scam, told the rural Ossian man to not give out any personal information and told the rural Ossian resident to block the caller’s phone number.
Ossian:
Friday, 2:51 p.m., Ossian BP station, 506 S. Jefferson Street. Man came into the station and prepaid for $5 in gas but then moved his vehicle to a different pump isle, pressed the pay inside button and started to pump gas. The store’s owner was concerned that the man was up to no good and stopped the gas at $16.49. The man reportedly then returned inside the store and angrily explained he didn’t have money to pay for the gas. He then left without paying. An investigating officer also determined by examining video surveillance of the transaction that the man in question had been driving while suspended with a prior conviction for the same offense.
Sunday, 12:02 a.m., possible prowler in the 100 block of Hillcrest Drive. Officer responded and ended up locating the man near Ossian Elementary School. The man told the officer he was just “hanging out” and was not trying to cause any problems. The officer informed the man that it was suspicious to be walking around closed businesses (reportedly Kemper Flooring) at that time of night. The man had no active arrest warrants. The man told the officer he didn’t want to call relatives at that time of the morning and was going to hang out at the school. The officer recommended he go to the Ossian All American Deli, which he did. There he was offered some water and the officer bought the man a sandwich. He planned to be gone by daybreak.
ACCIDENTS
City:
Saturday, 1:33 p.m., dirt track behind 716 N. Main St. Eric Redwine, 20, Bryant, was driving a 2010 Polaris Sportsman on the track when the right wheel of the vehicle came off causing the all-terrain vehicle to flip, ejecting Redwine and his passenger, Kilynn Shull, 17, Portland. Shull suffered multiple injuries including several broken bones. Wells County EMS and Bluffton Fire Department first responders dispatched to the scene. The vehicle sustained more than $1,000 damage.
Saturday, 5:28 p.m., Main Street at Cherry Street. Jose Lopez, 73, Fort Wayne, was driving a 2010 Dodge Journey south on Main Street. Jonathan M. Mygrant, 39, Bluffton, had driven a 2021 Bronco Sport into the center turn lane of the street and was stopped waiting on oncoming traffic to clear so he could make a left turn onto Cherry Street. The left front wheel of the Journey broke loose and continued southbound on its own striking the Bronco. Damage exceeded $5,000.
Monday, 12:29 p.m., Scott Street just north of Elm Street. Karen Raudenbush, 42, rural Monroe, was exiting a parking lot in her 2020 GMC Acadia and failed to see Sheri Crickard, 54, rural Bluffton, northbound in a 2013 Volvo XC60. The collision caused more than $1,000 damage.
County:
Friday, 4 p.m., 450E at the Wabash Central Railroad crossing just north of 100N.
Sunday, 7:02 p.m., 1100N near 200W. Ginger R. Butcher, 40, Ossian, hit a deer with her 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. Damage to the van exceeded $2,500. Kirsten P. Whitsitt, 46, rural Bluffton, was driving a 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer south on 450E when she came to a stop at the railroad crossing. Her sport utility vehicle was hit from behind by a 2014 Chevrolet Traverse driven by Amber P. Shoemaker, 36, Bluffton. Damage exceeded $2,500.
FIRES
Saturday, 12:04 p.m., 300W on the northwest corner of the intersection with 1200S. Grass fire. Fire departments from Chester and Nottingham townships and Montpelier dispatched. Fire under control at 12:45 p.m.,
Monday, 5:43 a.m., Oak Street at Central Avenue. Electric pole down across the street. Bluffton Fire Department dispatched. Firefighters stood by until a crew from Bluffton utilities could arrive and fix the pole.
ARRESTS
Jacob Dane Shaffer, 30, Bluffton; two counts of dealing marijuana, a Level 6 felony. Bond set at $10,000.
Keith Alan Gruetzmacher, 41, Fort Wayne; driving while suspended with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor. Bond set at $1,500.
TICKETS
Lottie Kueterman, 50, rural Bluffton; 62 mph-55 zone, 300W near 700S.
Michael P. Evans, 33, Fort Wayne; failure to change name and/or address on his driver’s license, I-69 at the 292.5 mile marker.
Daniel Lehrman, 20, Willshire, Ohio; exhibition driving, Main Street at Ind. 124 East.
