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One man was arrested and charges are pending against two others in connection with three armed robberies in Kosciusko County and one in Marshall County last month.
According to the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, Kosciusko County Detectives J.D. Ayres and Travis Marsh and Marshall County Detective Rex Gilliland traveled to Flint, Mich., where Steve Morin was in custody on unrelated charges. Morin cooperated with the investigation and officers were able to confirm all four robberies were related. Charges will be filed against Morin.
Tuesday, detectives contacted Jamie Graber, who also cooperated with the investigation. Graber was taken into custody and booked into the Marshall County Jail. Charges will be forwarded in Kosciusko County.
A third participant remains at large and warrants will be obtained for the person's participation in the armed robberies.
The first robbery in Kosciusko County took place June 13 at approximately 10:25 p.m., when a man entered Katie's Kwikmart, South Main Street, Leesburg, and pointed a silver handgun at a male employee and ordered him to the floor. The suspect then allegedly told a 17-year-old female employee to put the money from the cash register into a bag and not to set off the alarm system. The cashier told the man she didn't have any bags and placed the money on the counter. The man ordered the female to the floor before grabbing the cash and running from the store. He then allegedly got into a waiting vehicle parked on the north side of the store, which then fled north.
On June 14, a second armed robbery took place at Pride C Store on North Turkey Creek Road, Syracuse, at approximately 9:40 p.m. Again, it was indicated the suspect carried a silver handgun and wore a mask. Police later recovered the weapon as well as two rubber gloves, a pair of black pantyhose and a black shirt north of the convenience store on North Turkey Creek Road.
On June 22, a man entered the Shell station at U.S. 30 and CR 250E at 12:15 a.m. and demanded money. The suspect received an undisclosed amount of money and then fled the scene southbound on CR 250E in a white Pontiac. The vehicle was later recovered and determined stolen from Grace Village. Again, the suspect wore a black pantyhose mask along with a gray shirt and blue jeans.
A break in the case came when KCSD Sgt. Floyd Knafel saw a vehicle alongside Ind. 15 in Leesburg, the area where the gun used in the robbery at Katie's Kwikmart was found. Two subjects were seen looking for something in the ditch. Knafel, who was off-duty at that time and in a personal vehicle, wrote down the license plate number and noted the descriptions of the subjects. This break allowed detectives to generate a solid lead in the case, according to a press release.
On July 18, the KCSD received information that Morin was in custody in Michigan on outstanding warrants. He was interviewed and, according to information from the KCSD, told investigators that he participated in several armed robberies in at least three states.
