INCIDENTS
City:
Saturday, 3:08 a.m., Main Street at Monroe Street. Bluffton police officer pulled over a vehicle and arrested the driver, Kassandra Liliana Ramirez, 22, Bluffton, on one count of operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of .15 percent or more, a Class A misdemeanor, and one count of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Level 6 felony. Bond set at $5,000. Ramirez allegedly smelled of alcohol, appeared intoxicated, failed field sobriety tests and blew a .17 percent alcohol concentration on a Breathalyzer tes. That’s more than twice the Indiana’s legal limit for intoxication of .08 percent.
Saturday, 11:44 a.m., Main Street at Harrison Road. Officer pulled over a vehicle and arrested the driver, Brandie Lee Coak, 27, Westland, Mich., on charges of dealing in marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor; possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor; and dealing in a Schedule I, II, III, or IV controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor. Her bond was set at $4,000. Also arrested was Eric William McDonald, 29, Westland, Mich., for dealing marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor, and possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor. His bond was set at $2,500. McDonald was allegedly in possession of a large bag that contained several medium-sized bags of a green leafy substance with the odor and appearance of marijuana. In the back of the vehicle officers further reported discovering a large black trash bag that contained gallon-sized bags packed with a green leafy substance with the odor and appearance of marijuana. Allegedly there was also a scale inside the bag and a medium-sized plastic bowl that had residue of marijuana plants inside.
Saturday, 2:24 p.m., parking lot of Harrison Plaza. Report of a man, a woman and four children holding up signs begging for money. Officer responded but whoever they were they were gone by the time the officer arrived.
Saturday, 2:35 p.m., Walnut Hills Estates mobile home park, 80 Sunset Drive. Officers responded to a report of a loud verbal altercation between a man and a woman. Situation calmed, parties separated.
Saturday, 2:50 p.m., Short Stop convenience store. Officer spoke with the rider of a four-wheeled all-terrain vehicle about the rules regarding riding the vehicles on city streets. The rider pushed the vehicle back home.
Saturday, 4:19 p.m., residence on North Oak Street Extended. Officers responded to the residence after receiving a 911 call in which yelling could be heard in the background. Turned out that a child had dialed 911 and at the same time, a female at the residence was yelling at a dog.
Saturday, 5:36 p.m., Bluffton Police Department, 204 E. Market St. Person came to the police department to report being battered.
Saturday, 7:43 p.m., 100 block of West Market Street. Police received a report that a man with an active warrant for his arrest was riding a bicycle southbound from the Wells County Courthouse. A sheriff’s deputy checked the area and did not see the man, identified as Michael Wayne Copeland Jr., 26, Bluffton, but upon turning his patrol vehicle the deputy did reportedly see Copeland standing outside of the Hideaway Bar standing next to a yellow mountain bike. Copelend reportedly spotted the approaching patrol car, mounted the bike and took off riding south on Johnson, east on Washington Street to an alleyway east of the American Legion then north in the alleyway before he reportedly stopped and gave up. Copeland Jr., Bluffton, was charged with resisting law enforcement, a Level 6 felony, and violation of probation. Bond was set at $5,000 on the resisting charge. There was no bond set for the probation violation charge.
Saturday, 7:49 p.m., residence in the 900 block of West Washington Street. Loud verbal altercation between a man and a woman. Officers responded. Situation calmed, parties separated.
Saturday, 8:07 p.m., Walmart Supercenter, 2100 N. Main St. Holdup alarm at the pharmacy. Officers responded. No foul play reported.
Saturday, 11:20 p.m., 500 block of South Oak Street. Juveniles playing ding dong ditch.
Sunday, 1:09 a.m., residence in the 500 block of South Indiana Street. Loud verbal altercation. Officers responded. Situation calmed. Parties separated.
Sunday, 1:34 a.m., 900 block of South Johnson Street. Report of juveniles smoking marijuana in a pickup truck parked behind a residence. Officers responded. Cody Skylar Lee Drake, 18, Bluffton, was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor. He was released on his own recognizance.
Sunday, 7:32 a.m., residence in the 200 block of West Walnut Street. Report of an intoxicated man attempting to enter the back door of the residence. Officers responded. Patrick Lee Bortner, 51, Columbia City, was charged with residential entry, a Level 6 felony, and criminal trespass, a Class A misdemeanor. Bond was set at $6,500. Reportedly at the time of his arrest he blew a .187 percent alcohol concentration on a Breathalyzer test.
Sunday, 10:34 a.m., apartment in the 200 block of North Bond Street. Report of an altercation between a man and a woman. Officers and sheriff’s deputies responded. Mitchelle Dale Allen Herrick, 31, Bluffton, was arrested on charges of intimidation of a public safety official, a Level 6 felony, and public intoxication, a Class B misdemeanor. No bond was set.
Sunday, 2:09 p.m., Walnut Hills mobile home park. Report of a loud verbal altercation between a man and a woman. Officers responded.
Monday, 6:09 a.m., female resident of the 500 block of South Indiana Street reported she had an argument with her ex-boyfriend and he threw a brick through the windshield of her vehicle.
Monday, 3:14 p.m., PoFed, 1644 N. Main St. Burglar alarm. Officers responded. Alarm accidentally tripped.
Monday, 4:53 p.m., Lilac Lane apartments, 1550 S. Plaza St. Caller reported a burglary that happened at an apartment over the weekend.
Monday, 7 p.m., Walmart Supercenter, 2100 N. Main St. Members of Predator Catchers of Indianapolis contacted the Bluffton Police Department to advise they had arranged through the website “Grindr” for a male sex offender to meet a “13-year-old boy” at the store for a sexual encounter. It turned out to be a private sting set up by the organization. Roger Wayne Wiles, 34, Fort Wayne, was charged with child solicitation, a Level 4 felony. No bond set.
Tuesday, 12:46 a.m., woods behind the Praxis substance abuse treatment facility, 1529 W. Lancaster St. Report of a heavy-set female and a skinny man attempting to get into a vehicle in the parking lot of the facility. Both reportedly fled into a woods behind the facility when confronted. Police searched the area but did not see anyone matching the description.
Tuesday, 11:20 a.m., man came to the Bluffton Police Department to report that his vehicle had been stolen Saturday and was later found parked by the pond at Bluffton Woods mobile home park. He reported he had discovered that several items have been stolen from inside the vehicle.
Tuesday, 11:49 a.m., Hardees Restaurant, 211 N. Main Street. Report of a belligerent customer arguing about prices on the menu board. Officers dispatched.
Tuesday, 12:42 p.m., Adams County woman reported that she discovered a fraudulent charge on her credit card for Bluffton’s Comfort Inn and Suites.
County:
Friday, 2:03 p.m., Norwell High School, 1100E-U.S. 224. Two boys fighting in one of the hallways of the school. Deputies dispatched. Information taken for a report.
Friday, 4:54 p.m., Ind. 124 at 100W. Semi broken down in the westbound lane of the highway.
Friday, 11:39 p.m., Meridian Road south of Wellsburg Road. Sheriff’s deputy pulled a large bag of mulch off the road that was creating a traffic hazard.
Saturday, 8:47 p.m., U.S. 224 at 400W. Van broke its ball joint and was blocking both lanes of traffic. Sheriff’s deputies provided traffic control until the vehicle could be towed from the scene.
Saturday, 10:17 p.m., Ind. 1 at U.S. 224. While patrolling northbound on Ind. 1 near 700N a sheriff’s deputy spotted a vehicle with a headlight that was out, turned his patrol vehicle around and caught up with the vehicle near U.S. 224 and pulled it over just south of Kingsland Corners. The driver, Elvi Omar Lopez Lopez, 24, rural Pennville, did not have a driver’s license but instead handed the deputy a Mexican identification card. Lopez Lopez was arrested on one count of operating a motor vehicle while never having been issued a driver’s license, a Class B misdemeanor
Sunday, 1:43 a.m., residence on 300N west of 100W. Deputy requested to remove an intoxicated woman from the residence. A motel room was found for the woman to spend the night.
Sunday, 9:10 a.m., residence on 600W north of 1000N. Caller reported several items stolen from a pole barn at the residence including ammunition and meat.
Sunday, 12:09 p.m., teenage male living in Zanesville reported he was in contact with a man from Fort Wayne attempting to sell the man a handgun. The teen met with the man who said he wanted to test fire the gun before buying it. The agreement between the two was that they would go to a residence on the north side of 1200N west of 200W and test the gun. However, allegedly while they were en route, the man pulled in front of the teen’s car and told him he wanted to test fire the gun at that location. The teen handed the man the gun and he allegedly used the gun to take the teen’s car keys, cellphone and the gun. Because the incident happened on the Allen County side of the Wells/Allen County line, the matter was referred to the Allen County Sheriff’s Department for investigation.
Sunday, 3:04 p.m., 600W north of 1000N. Caller reported someone broke into his garage during the night and stole several power tools, a rifle and a pellet gun.
Sunday, 3:07 p.m., Ind. 218 near Mount Zion. Report of a car stuck halfway on the road and halfway in the ditch. Sheriff’s deputy responded and located the 2010 Dodge Charger and upon speaking with the vehicle’s driver, identified as Jared Lee Janing, 28, Three Rivers, Mich., reported that he appeared intoxicated, smelled of alcohol. The deputy further observed in his report that Janing was having trouble understanding simple commands, but then reached into the back seat of his vehicle and retrieved a bottle of Bud Lite Platinum while the deputy was speaking with him and opened it. He reportedly became angry when the deputy took the bottle away and allegedly attempted to get another bottle. Janing reportedly failed field sobriety tests and blew a .253 percent alcohol concentration equivalency on a certified breath test conducted at the Wells County Jail — which is more than three times the legal limit for intoxication. Deputies also reportedly located two full beers under the driver’s seat of the Charger, two in a plastic bag in the back seat, a sing shot of 99 Bananas in the back seat, an empty shot of the same liquor in the front seat and an empty bottle Jack Daniels Honey. Janing was charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated with a prior conviction for the same or a similar offense, a Level 6 felony; operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor; and open alcoholic beverage container during operation of a motor vehicle, a Class C infraction. Bond was set at $5,000.
Sunday, 5:55 p.m., residence on Ind. 1 between 400N and 500N. Sometime the previous night, a vehicle drove off the west side of the road, over corrected and drove off the east side of the road damaging the property at the residence and then drove away.
Sunday, 8:48 p.m., residence on Jeff Road southeast of 1000S. House was ransacked and multiple items stolen including cash collectibles, jewelry and prescription medication.
Sunday, 10:26 p.m., residence on First Street in Petroleum. Caller reported someone had been banging on the door of her residence off and on for the past couple weeks.
Monday, 2:59 p.m., residence on 600W north of 1000N. Couple reported their barn was broken into sometime over the weekend and a number of items were stolen including power tools, alcoholic beverages, and glassware.
Ossian:
Sunday, 6:10 p.m., Jefferson Street at LaFever Street. Officer pulled over a Honda Odyssey van after clocking it at 56 mph-45 zone on South Jefferson Street and ended up arresting the driver, Kyaw Moe Naing, 29, Fort Wayne, on one count of driving while suspended with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor. He was released on his own recognizance.
Monday, 9:26 a.m., 900 block of North Zuercher Street. Caller reported while driving south on Ind. 1, a man was waving a gun out of the window of the vehicle he was driving. The caller provided a license plate number. An officer, a sheriff’s deputy and a state police trooper spoke with the owner of the vehicle who denied even owning a gun.
Monday, 5:03 p.m., Elzey-Patterson-Rodak Funeral Home, 120 W. Mill St. Burglar alarm. Officer responded. Alarm accidentally tripped by an employee.
ACCIDENTS
County:
Friday, 1:19 p.m., 400N at 450E. Jessica L. Arnett, 29, Bluffton, was driving north on 450E and slowing to make a left turn onto 400N. However she did not get the 2016 Ford Explorer she was driving slowed enough in time to negotiate the turn, slid off the road and snapped a utility pole guy wire from a Bluffton Utilities electric pole. The top part of the pole then broke. Bluffton Fire Rescue and Wells County EMS were both dispatched, but Arnett was not injured. Damage exceeded $2,500.
FIRE RUNS
Sunday, 12:20 a.m., Ossian Health & Rehabilitation, 215 Davis Road. Smoke alarm. Ossian Fire Department dispatched. Burned food triggered the alarm.
Sunday, 3:27 p.m., 57 Westgate Rd. Caller reported that while in the process of moving into the house he discovered an odor of natural gas. Bluffton Fire Department dispatched. Leak discovered in a service line. Northern Indiana Public Service Company contacted.
ARRESTS
Kevin Len Patat, 51, Bluffton; domestic battery, a Level 6 felony. Bond set at $25,000.
Kenneth Lee Oda, 50, rural Bluffton; criminal trespass, a Level 6 felony. Bond set at $5,000.
Jarvis Daniel Moore, 25, Anderson; criminal mischief, a Class B misdemeanor. Bond set at $500.
