Three people are in custody for allegedly robbing the Penguin Point store on North Detroit Street just after closing on Friday night. Two of the suspects are former employees of the franchise.

Matthew E. Strouse, 18, of 340 E. Levi Lee Road #134, Warsaw, and Perry Peconga, 21, of 1763 W. CR 300S, Warsaw, are each preliminarily charged with robbery while armed, a Class B felony. Each is being held in the Kosciusko County Jail on $20,000 bond.

The third suspect, Katie Joy Hyde, 18, of 111 W. Church St., Leesburg, is preliminarily charged with aiding in a robbery. Her bond is also set at $20,000.

After the robbery, the three allegedly stayed overnight in a Columbia City motel and, on Saturday, went shopping in Fort Wayne and spent some of the money taken Friday night.

According to information obtained from the Warsaw Police Department, two men entered the back door of the store prior to 11:17 p.m. (the time police were called). One of the men displayed a handgun and demanded money. A 19-year-old female employee who was counting money at the manager's desk told police that one of the men pushed her head down on the desk in an apparent attempt to prevent her from looking at them. Both suspects were covered with hooded sweatshirts, bandannas and white gloves to conceal their identities.

The suspects took the money from the desktop as well as a bank bag containing money for opening the store the next day from a drawer in the desk. They then fled on foot from the business with an undisclosed amount of cash and ran north along the railroad tracks behind the restaurant.

A K-9 search of the area ended unsuccessfully, but information received Saturday led to the three suspects, who were interviewed and subsequently arrested.

All three suspects came to the Warsaw Police Department on Saturday and were reportedly angry that they were being accused of robbing the store. The three at first said they spent the night at a friend's house in Mentone. Once separated, all three reportedly admitted their involvement in the robbery.

Strouse's mother contacted police Saturday, prior to the three coming to the police station, because she was concerned that her son might have been involved. Clothing matching the descriptions given by witnesses was reportedly missing from her son's room, as were two pellet guns. Strouse's mother also said Peconga lived with the family for about two months before being asked to leave and, during his stay, made comments about how easy it would be to rob Penguin Point. Both Peconga and Strouse are former Penguin Point employees.

A relative of Peconga told police he was missing a .22-caliber semi-automatic handgun from his gun cabinet. Peconga reportedly asked to borrow the gun to shoot cats, but the request was denied. It was later discovered missing and reported as stolen.

Peconga allegedly held the unloaded gun during the robbery and demanded the money, and Strouse reportedly stood next to him during the incident.

Strouse told police that Hyde reluctantly agreed to drive them to the business. She then parked several blocks away and waited for Strouse and Peconga. Hyde told police that after the robbery, she drove the two males to her Leesburg residence, where the proceeds from the robbery were divided among them. She then left her residence with Strouse and Peconga and drove to Columbia City.

All three suspects cooperated with police in recovering the clothing and weapon used in the robbery. About half of the money and all of the checks taken were recovered, and clothing and jewelry purchased with the stolen funds were confiscated. [[In-content Ad]]