A Warsaw man was taken into custody yesterday morning after allegedly breaking into a funeral home in the northern portion of Kosciusko County.
Kosciusko County officials were contacted Tuesday morning at 6:44 a.m. from employees at Katies’ Kwik Mart convenience store, 101 S. Main St., Leesburg, regarding the unusual actions of the driver of a yellow motorcycle.
As officers were en route to the location, the driver apparently left the gas station northbound after he had caused a disturbance inside and outside the store.
Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Deputies radioed for the Milford Police Department officer to watch for the suspect vehicle. Officers were then notified by the 9-1-1 dispatch center at 7 a.m. that a motorcycle matching the suspect’s had circled Mishler Funeral Home, located at 461 W. 900 N., Milford, and the driver had then approached the business. Milford police arrived at the funeral home and located the yellow motorcycle, along with a broken window on a rear door of the establishment.
The suspect, identified as Austin James Grindle, 19, of Warsaw, emerged from the broken window and was taken into custody by Milford and arriving Kosciusko County Sheriff’s deputies.
Management of Mishler Funeral Home arrived on scene and allowed officers inside, at which point their preliminary investigation found that the suspect had been attempting to steal children’s DVD movies.
Deputies also obtained a search warrant to obtain a blood draw for drug and alcohol results from Grindle due to his erratic behavior. Those results are still pending, but Grindle was subsequently arrested and preliminarily charged with felony burglary of a business with intent.
He is currently being held on a prosecutorial hold without bond in the Kosciusko County Jail.
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