MILFORD – Police arrested the sixth and final person Wednesday in connection with a couple of thefts in October.
A construction trailer full of supplies, a lawnmower, a trailer and ATV were stolen in the Milford area. Police arrested Walker Lewis, 24, Bristol, in St. Joseph County Wednesday and charged him with felony theft.
Police previously arrested five others in the case. They include:
• Mitchell Andrew Reynolds, 26, of 304 W. High St., Syracuse, charged with felony theft and misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia, arrested Nov. 10.
• Alisha Rae Hoover, 28, of 322 S. Washington St., #3, Warsaw, charged with felony theft and misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia, arrested Nov. 10.
• Jason Meade, 43, of 304 W. High St., Syracuse, charged with aiding, inducing or causing a felony and misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia and possession of syringe for a legend drug, arrested Nov. 10.
• Gregg McManis, 45, of 125?E. Third St., Bremen, charged with two counts of aiding, inducing or causing a felony, arrested Monday.
• Nathan Robert Yeager, 33, of 415 E. North St., Bremen, charged with one count of aiding, inducing or causing a felony, arrested Tuesday.
The case began in October when a contractor reported the theft of his construction trailer full of his supplies.
Later in the month, a landlord reported a separate theft of an ATV, a lawnmower and a trailer after Reynolds and Hoover moved out of a place he was renting to them. He told police he saw Reynolds and three other people remove the items from his garage, according to a probable cause affidavit filed with the Kosciusko County Prosecutor’s Office.
While cleaning out the garage, the landlord found a can of paint with the contractor’s name on it.
Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department Detective Shane Bucher made contact with Reynolds, who admitted that Lewis and him stole the construction trailer. He took Bucher to his residence, where he and Hoover unloaded the stolen tools, the affidavit states.
Reynolds admitted he stole a trailer, mower and ATV from the landlord. Reynolds showed Bucher some of the tools. Reynolds allegedly admitted they took the mower and the ATV to Lewis’ property in Bristol, where they met Yeager, who said he knew someone who would buy the tools.
Yeager introduced them to Greg McManis, who bought the landlord’s trailer, mower and tools for $1,500 and 14 grams of methamphetamine. McManis also gave Lewis a Harley Davidson motorcycle for setting up the deal.
During a search of Reyonds’ residence, who was staying with Meade at the time, officers found marijuana and needles used to inject heroin. Both Hoover and Meade were on probation.
The contractor’s trailer was traced to an auto dealership, where it had been sold for $1,000. Police were able to recover the stolen items through McManis.
