Police have made a fourth arrest connected to the Syracuse shootings of Feb. 19. Officers arrested Ashlyn Nicole Shepard, 21, Mishawaka, at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. She was preliminary charged with obstruction of justice, a level 6 felony. State troopers, at the request of Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department detectives, located Shepard and took her into custody. She was transported to St. Joseph County Jail and is currently being held on the Kosciusko County warrant. During the investigation, detectives determined Shepard was the girlfriend of Kyle Dehart. He was arrested March 6 and is being held in the Kosciusko County jail and charged with two counts of murder and a felony charge for obstruction of justice. At Dehart’s initial hearing this morning, he pleaded not guilty. His status conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. April 13 and his pre-trial conference is scheduled for 3 p.m. on May 11. Indiana State Trooper Neil Hodges interviewed Shepard and she said she was with Dehart Feb. 18 to 19 and she said she never saw Brandon Woody, according to a probable cause affidavit filed with the prosecutor’s office. After obtaining search warrants, officers found texts sent from Shepard to Joan Dehart, Kyle Dehart’s mother, stating “emergency” and “they are here,” referring to the police, the affidavit states. Joan Dehart was arrested on March 4 and charged with assisting a criminal. Joan Dehart waived her initial hearing today and was released on $10,000 bond. On Monday, Shepard admitted to police she lied to Hodges about being with Dehart on Feb. 18 to 19. She said she met him briefly to obtain money at a gas station in Mishawaka on Feb. 18 and then met him again at the same place the following day. Dehart was arrested at Shepard’s residence shortly after.
