A sixth Elkhart man was arrested after allegedly being involved in the theft of ATVs and UTVs from a Warsaw dealership in January.
Spencer Forrest Flynn, 36, Elkhart, is charged with burglary, a level 5 felony; theft, a level 5 felony; and criminal mischief, a class A misdemeanor.
He was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 4:05 p.m. Friday on a $15,250 preliminary bond.
According to the probable cause affidavit, at about 5:57 a.m. Jan. 21, Kosciusko County Dispatch advised law enforcement of a suspicious vehicle at an automotive dealership with someone outside of the vehicle with a couple of four-wheelers.
Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the incident.
Three stolen ATVs were found with keys in the ignition behind the business, according to court documents.
At about 6:53 a.m., deputies followed ATV/UTV tracks in the snow near a field on CR 100S and CR 32E to an area west of CR 20E, north of U.S. 30. They located three side-by-sides abandoned in a wooden area and noted one side-by-side was missing a key.
Another deputy located a man, later identified as Adam Smith, 37, walking along a roadway. The deputy also located a white box truck in the church parking lot and footprints along the side of CR 325E that led to the church parking lot towards the box truck. The deputy saw the rear door of the box truck was partially open and saw a motorcycle-type vehicle and a side-by-side.
Winona Lake Police Department officers assisted in the incident. A WLPD officer followed footprints to the parking lot of a hotel and located Mark Houghton, 37, Joshua Snyder, 33, and Michael Williams, 32, all of Elkhart. Officers noticed Houghton was holding his pants’ waistband and the bottom of his jacket.
When Houghton was asked by officers to put his hands on top of his head, a drill fell to the ground. A key for one of the stolen side-by-sides was also located in Houghton’s pocket.
Through additional discovered evidence, William L. Wind, 49, was also later determined to be involved in the burglary.
Three additional stolen vehicles were located behind the hotel.
The total value of the vehicles stolen from the dealership was $146,996.
On Jan. 21, a KCSO detective spoke with an Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office detective about Flynn. The ECSO detective said the individuals that were arrested in Kosciusko County, as well as Flynn, were all involved in similar criminal activity in Elkhart County and had open cases.
Witness statements and physical evidence determined Flynn was also involved in the burglary at the dealership.
Wind, Houghton, Snyder and Williams were all arrested and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail Jan. 21.