SOUTH WHITLEY – A Florida man is in custody in Fort Wayne, and police in both Whitley and Kosciusko counties are interested in him in connection with criminal activity in their respective counties. Around 8 a.m. Thursday in South Whitley, it was reported that a man, believed to be Steven A. Waid Jr., confronted another man at a Marathon gas station. According to South Whitley Police Chief Dave Wilkinson, Waid is alleged to have argued with the man, then pulled up his shirt to show a gun tucked in his waistband. Waid then left that gas station. The victim then went to the South Whitley police station to report the incident. Police saw a vehicle matching the description around 10:30 a.m. in South Whitley. After looking for the vehicle, it was found abandoned when a report came over scanner traffic that another person in town had their car stolen at the same gas station in South Whitley. Because of their proximity to the gas station, Whitko High School and South Whitley Elementary were put on lockdown Thursday. Waid then allegedly picked up a female acquaintance and drove to Kosciusko County. Police in Kosciusko County have Waid as a suspect of a possible burglary at a Hoffman Lake home. Among the items taken from the home at 7491 W. Lutes Drive, Warsaw, were prescription painkillers. That incident is believed to have taken place between 11:15 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Thursday.Police over several counties searched for the black pickup Waid was believed to be in. WANE-TV out of Fort Wayne reported that when police saw the truck around 12:30 a.m. Friday near Coliseum Boulevard and Lake Avenue in Fort Wayne, Waid, 35, of Bartow, Fla., refused to pull over. After a short police chase, said the news network, Waid crashed the vehicle he was driving into a garage. Waid is being held on $3,250 bond in Allen County Jail and has several out-of-county warrants as well. Waid was booked in on criminal recklessness and resisting law enforcement.
