Four Southern Indiana Suspects Arrested in Mitchell Burglary

Local Sources - Four Southern Indiana suspects have been arrested and charged in connection to Mitchell burglary.

On Sunday, February 6th, Indiana State Police A.C.E.S. (Aggressive Criminal Enforcement Section) Sgt. Greg Day and Indiana State Police DES Detective Josh Allen were contacted about a burglary that had occurred in the 3000 block of SR 37 in Mitchell, Indiana. An ISP trooper had taken the initial report of the crime on February 2nd. A former business, currently utilized as a personal maintenance shop, had been broken into and almost $40,000 worth of tools, tool boxes, and other equipment had been stolen.

Sgt. Day and Det. Allen learned that a few of the items were for sale on the website craigslist, and the troopers were able to arrange a meeting in a parking lot in Bedford to possibly “buy” the items. Once the suspects arrived, Det. Allen could see the stolen toolboxes in the bed of their truck. Sgt. Day, along with Trp. Richard Klun arrived and detained three suspects, who were identified as Thomas Van Winkle of Marengo, Brady Ferguson of Orleans, and Jacklyn Wallace of Orleans.

During the encounter, Van Winkle was found to have in his possession approximately 3 grams of suspected methamphetamine. It was also discovered that he was wanted on multiple felony warrants out of Crawford County (11 total offenses). Troopers also located three Snap-On toolboxes and other items that had been stolen. These items were recovered for the victim. A search warrant for a blood draw was obtained for Van Winkle, who had driven to the location after allegedly ingesting methamphetamine.

Van Winkle was arrested for the warrant at that time and the investigation continued. Troopers were able to determine that multiple burglaries occurred at the aforementioned property on both January 29th and 30th. The suspects had allegedly made at least three separate trips to steal items on those nights.

On Monday, February 7th, Sgt. Day, Trp. Klun and DES Detective Zack Robbins were able to utilize a variety of investigative techniques and recover almost all of the stolen items. They recovered over $35,000 worth of the items from properties near Huron, Paoli, and Marengo – including the residences of Van Winkle and Ferguson. All of the stolen property was returned to the owners. Sgt. Day then completed probable cause affidavits, requesting warrants on all three suspects. Arrest warrants were issued for all three.

On February 11th, Trp. Tyler Trueblood went to the Crawford County Jail and served Van Winkle’s new warrant on him since he was already being held there for the previous warrant.

On February 14th, Sgt. Day, Trp. Klun, Trp. Trueblood, Trp. Kaitlyn Greene, and Trp. Chance Humphrey began to diligently search for Ferguson and Wallace. They located the pair as they drove through Paoli and a traffic stop was conducted. Both Ferguson and Wallace were taken into custody. In addition, a third occupant of the vehicle was identified as Kerry Williams of Corydon. Williams was found to have in his possession suspected marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and just over 10 grams of suspected methamphetamine that was packaged in a manner consistent with dealing the drug. All three were arrested and incarcerated at the Orange County Jail. Once at the jail, it was discovered that Wallace had suspected methamphetamine and a pipe concealed in a bodily cavity. She faced additional new charges for that offense.

The suspects are facing the following offenses:

Thomas Van Winkle, 43 of Marengo

Burglary of a Structure, Level 5 Felony (3 counts) - Lawrence County
Theft, Level 6 Felony (3 counts) - Lawrence County
Possession of Methamphetamine, Level 6 Felony - Lawrence County
Operating with a Controlled Substance in the Body, Class C Misdemeanor - Lawrence County
Crawford County felony warrants

Brady Ferguson, 28 of Orleans

Burglary of a Structure, Level 5 Felony (3 counts) - Lawrence County
Theft, Level 6 Felony (3 counts) - Lawrence County

Jacklyn Wallace, 32 of Orleans

Burglary of a Structure, Level 5 Felony (2 counts) - Lawrence County
Theft, Level 6 Felony, Level 6 Felony (2 counts) - Lawrence County
Possession of Methamphetamine, Level 6 Felony – Orange County
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Class C Misdemeanor – Orange County
Trafficking with an Inmate, Level 6 Felony – Orange County

Kerry Williams, 58 of Corydon

Dealing Methamphetamine Over 10 Grams, Level 2 Felony – Orange County
Possession of Methamphetamine Over 10 Grams, Level 4 Felony – Orange County
Possession of Marijuana, Class B Misdemeanor – Orange County
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Class C Misdemeanor – Orange County

All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Sgt. Day praised the work of all involved officers and stated, “It is always a good day when we can get justice for innocent victims. This is sadly another reminder of how methamphetamine and drug use is not a victimless crime. Unfortunately, those struggling with addiction often turn to commit burglaries and thefts to pay for their habit.”