A Warsaw man was arrested after allegedly stalking a woman he had previously been convicted of stalking.
Darren Jay Heinzman, 42, of 321 S. High St., Warsaw, is charged with stalking, a level 6 felony; two counts of perjury, level 6 felonies; and one count of forgery, a level 6 felony.
He was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 7:53 p.m. Wednesday on a $25,250 preliminary bond.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Feb. 18, 2011, formal charges of stalking, a class C felony, as well as a habitual offender enhancement were filed against Heinzman in Kosciusko Superior Court I. The facts of the case involved Heinzman allegedly stalking a woman in violation of a protective order. On June 12, 2012, Heinzman was convicted of stalking. He was released on March 12, 2014.
After his release, Heinzman engaged in multiple subsequent incidents of criminal behavior, which resulted in charges and a period of incarceration.
In February 2024, the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office became aware Heinzman may be stalking the woman again. A detective was assigned to the case and interviewed the woman on Feb. 9.
The woman told the detective for a period in 2020, she exchanged communication with Heinzman through a communications app while Heinzman was incarcerated at the Indiana Department of Corrections at Westville Correctional Facility. The woman ended that communication. However, in October 2022, the woman, believing Heinzman changed in prison, allowed Heinzman to communicate with her between October and December 2022. She then told Heinzman she wanted no further contact with him.
The woman said Heinzman then began calling her and sending her letters. She said between January 2023 and June 18, 2023, she received 540 missed calls and about 15 letters from Heinzman. She said the calls and letters stopped for a time.
When Heinzman was released Oct. 5, 2023, the woman said she received a phone call from someone who said they were a guard at the facility Heinzman was at, asking if the woman was able to pick Heinzman up. The woman declined. Later on Oct. 5, Heinzman called the woman directly. The woman told Heinzman not to contact her again and she was going to seek another protective order. The woman received 33 additional text messages from Heinzman between Oct. 5 and Nov. 20, 2023. Many of the texts included photos of what the woman believed to be Heinzman’s genitals.
On Oct. 6, 2023, the woman filed a protective order against Heinzman, which was denied due to lack of service and address for Heinzman. On Oct. 12, a second protective order was applied for, which was denied due to lack of a service address, according to court records.
On Dec. 4, 2023, Heinzman filed a small claims action against the woman in Kosciusko County Superior Court III, where Heinzman alleged the woman stole $600 from him on CashApp and Walmart Cash. The case stalled because Heinzman failed to pay the filing fee.
On Jan. 18, 2024, Heinzman filed a petition for a protective order, listing the woman as the respondent. Heinzman signed the petition under the penalties of perjury. In the petition, Heinzman wrote his relationship with the woman was that of an old friend. He said he was a victim of stalking and was the victim of repeated acts of harassment, according to court documents. In the filing, Heinzman listed his address as the address the woman’s protective orders were sent to but was “unclaimed,” according to court documents.
On Jan. 22, 2014, the court denied Heinzman’s petition for a protective order.
On Feb. 2, 2024, Heinzman filed for second petition for a protective order, listing the woman as the respondent. He wrote the relationship with the woman was that of an “old ex,” according to court documents. He again said he was a victim of stalking and harassment.
On Feb. 16, 2024, the detective spoke with a parole agent who said he was aware of the situation between Heinzman and the woman. The agent said on Jan. 5, 2024, he changed Heinzman’s parole stipulations to include not having contact with the woman. On Jan. 24, 2024, the parole stipulation was again changed to include not having contact with the woman, submitting to a mental health evaluation and intensive supervision.