Webster Man Allegedly Steals Hose

A North Webster man who needed a garden hose took one in the middle of the night and was arrested after an eyewitness told police.

Randall E. Koth, 45, of 115 W. 30 EMS, was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail at 2:17 a.m. Sunday on one count of theft, a Class A misdemeanor.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed Thursday in Kosciusko Superior Court II, Syracuse police officer Thomas White was sitting in his patrol car in the parking lot at 1013 North Long Drive around 12:25 a.m. Sunday when a man drove up to him and said he had just witnessed a theft.

The citizen told White he saw a white Ford Expedition or Explorer with gold trim on the bottom pull up to the intersection of North Front and East Medusa streets, turn off the headlights, then get out and detach a 50-foot garden hose from the well that is used by the condos in the area.

“On three different occasions, Syracuse PD has had issues with a white Ford Expedition at the local Goodwill boxes, which is being driven by Randall Koth,” court papers state.

White located Koth at 12:50 a.m. parked in the overflow parking lot for the Frog Tavern, with Koth sitting in the driver’s seat with the window halfway down.

“I immediately noticed a garden hose inside Randall’s vehicle in the back seat area,” White reported. “I told Randall I had an eyewitness to him stealing the garden hose. Randall put his head down, then raised up and asked, ‘Can’t I just take it back?’ I told Randall, ‘No, it doesn’t work that way.’ Randall stated he needed a garden hose. I told him just because he needed a garden hose doesn’t mean you steal one.’”

Koth’s bond was set at $600.

Milford Man Accused Of Battery

A Milford man accused of battering his pregnant girlfriend and four minor children was arrested Wednesday and faces four felony and two misdemeanor battery charges.

Robert E. Belt Jr., 30, of 309 S. Henry St., was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail at 2:35 p.m. Wednesday for domestic battery to a pregnant woman, a Level 5 felony; two counts of battery to a person less than 14 years of age, Level 6 felonies; domestic battery with a child under 16 present, a Level 6 felony; battery, a Class A misdemeanor; and domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed July 23 in Kosciusko Superior Court III, Milford police were dispatched to the home on July 17 and found people outside of the residence crying upon arrival.

Belt’s girlfriend told police she went to bed with the four children and Belt entered the room and started screaming.

She told police she left the room to avoid Belt, but he followed her, punched her upper body with closed fists and ripped out part of her hair. She went outside and said Belt then picked her up and threw her to the ground and that Belt knew she was pregnant.

Police interviewed the minor children in the home, who told police Belt pushed one of them to the ground when trying to stop the altercation, causing a head injury; another was pushed down, causing a scrape to a foot; and another child said Belt threw her to the ground and police observed bleeding on the child’s arm.

A warrant for Belt’s arrest was issued July 23.

His bond was set at $6,000.

Stolen Wallet Lands Woman In Jail

A Milford woman who allegedly stole a man’s wallet he left behind at a Menards checkout lane was taken to jail Thursday.

Lisa Renee Wolf, 46, of 305 N. Main St., was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail at 11:36 a.m. Thursday on one count of theft, a Class A misdemeanor.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed Aug. 1 in Kosciusko Superior Court II, a man called Warsaw Police Department to report his wallet, that also contained $85 in cash, was stolen after he forgot it while using a checkout at Menards that day.

“He advised he was checking out on lane #4, he took his debit card out of his wallet, used it for the transaction, put it back in his wallet and set it next to the credit card machine. He then left the store with his purchase, but not his wallet,” court papers state.

The man realized he forgot his wallet  when he got to his vehicle and went back inside to discover it gone.

“Upon review of video surveillance, a female saw his wallet laying there and put her purse over it. She paid using a debit card, and when she took her purse, she did not pick it up, she slid the purse off using two hands. When she slid the purse off, the wallet was gone,” according to police.

Menards employees were able to inform police the suspect’s name was Lisa Wolf. WPD officers contacted Wolf and asked her to come to the police station for questioning.

“Lisa assured me she did not take a wallet and would never do that to a person. Lisa would never admit to taking the wallet, so the interview was ended,” according to the reporting officer.

Police were able to determine from the surveillance video that Wolf was the person seen in the video.

Wolf’s bond was set at $600.