Gun Shown At Park; 1 ArrestedFighting at the Center Lake parking lot led to the arrest of a South Whitley man Tuesday afternoon in Warsaw.
Ricardo E. Stieglitz, 22, of 6129 W. Pook Road, South Whitley, was arrested and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail for aggravated battery. His bond was set at $5,000.
According to the Warsaw Police Department, Stieglitz allegedly pointed a gun at a woman and then hit a man in the head with the firearm when the man confronted Stieglitz about the incident.
The woman reportedly told the man Stieglitz pointed a gun at her and made a threat, and the man said he told Stieglitz to put the gun away. When the man tried to grab Stieglitz's arm, Stieglitz allegedly hit him on top of the head, causing a large cut.
When police arrived and confronted Stieglitz about the gun, he reportedly told them it was "an Air Soft® gun." However, when police looked in Stieglitz's car, they found a .9mm handgun with a magazine and a round in the chamber. The gun also allegedly had fresh blood on it.
During a taped statement, Stieglitz reportedly told police he was approached by the man, who asked about the gun. When Stieglitz walked away, he said the man followed him, so Stieglitz got the gun out of the car's glove box and put it in his pocket.
Stieglitz said that the man then grabbed him by the neck and a scuffle followed. Stieglitz said he got the gun out of his pocket and hit the other man on the head with it.
The incident remains under investigation by the Warsaw Police Department. WPD was assisted at the scene by the Winona Lake Police Department.
