An Elkhart man was arrested following a SWAT stand-off on Monday.
The Elkhart County Regional SWAT Team reported assisting the Elkhart City Police Department in arresting Joshua Welch, 34, of Elkhart around 1:15 p.m., over three hours after an initial attempted traffic stop.
Elkhart police stated in their report they attempted to stop Welch in a stolen Mercury Sprinter van near Benham Avenue and West Hively Avenue.
Police said the vehicle fled and a brief pursuit began at around 9:44 a.m. The pursuit only lasted a few minutes before the van struck a pole in the 600 block of West Lusher Avenue.
When police approached the vehicle, the driver, Welch, told police he was armed and refused to exit the vehicle, and SWAT was called in around 10:14 a.m.
“After multiple attempts at negotiation, SWAT team members deployed chemical irritants into the vehicle,” a press release from the Elkhart City Police Department said.
The driver exited the vehicle and surrendered, taken into custody around 1:14 p.m. Welch was cleared medically and incarcerated at the Elkhart County Jail. Police did find a firearm inside the vehicle as claimed.
Preliminary charges are criminal recklessness, a Level 6 felony; resisting law enforcement, a Level 6 felony; alteration of a firearm’s markers, a Level 6 felony; unlawful possession of a handgun, a Class A misdemeanor, and unrelated warrants.
Crash leads to arrest
A man was arrested following a crash in LaGrange Monday morning.
According to the LaGrange County Sheriff’s Office, David V. Miller, 39, of LaGrange, had been driving a tractor pulling a manure spreader in the 5200 block of East 200 South, but the vehicle left the road and struck a telephone pole, breaking it in half. Nearby homes lost power.
Miller reportedly fled the scene and was located by deputies a short time later and booked into the LaGrange County Jail on a charge of leaving the scene of a property damage accident.
ARRESTS
• A woman was arrested at 4:16 p.m. after she allegedly attempted to drown her dog in the 51000 block of C.R. 109. The woman was incarcerated at the Elkhart County Jail while the dog was picked up by the Elkhart County Humane Society.
• A woman was arrested by Elkhart County deputies at 8:42 p.m. Sunday after she allegedly made threats to hurt another person if that person touched her dog in the 53000 block of Canvasback Trace in Elkhart. The dog owner was incarcerated in the Elkhart County Jail on charges of battery on a public safety official, resisting law enforcement, and intimidation.
• A 15-year-old was taken to the Elkhart County Juvenile Detention Center at 10:18 p.m. Sunday on charges of resisting law enforcement and driving without a license after police conducted a traffic stop on a white 2005 PT Cruiser at C.R. 6 and C.R. 17 in Elkhart for several traffic infractions, but the driver reportedly fled, crashing near C.R. 104 and C.R. 15, according to Elkhart County deputies.
• A 27-year-old man was arrested by Goshen police at 9:48 a.m. Monday on charges of auto theft, possession of a handgun by a felon, possession of a syringe, possession of fentanyl, possession of meth, and an Elkhart County warrant following a traffic stop in the 200 block of Olive Street. Police also reported there was stolen property in the van from burglaries in Kosciusko County. He was taken to the Elkhart County Jail.
• A 43-year-old woman was arrested by Elkhart County deputies at 8:38 p.m. Monday on a charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated after she was stopped by police for a traffic violation near Ind. 19 and U.S. 20.
HIT-AND-RUN
• A woman reported to Elkhart County deputies at 10:48 p.m. Saturday that a vehicle struck a Northern Indiana Public Service Co. pole, Frontier telephone box, and mailbox in front of 30458 C.R. 28, Elkhart. The driver fled the scene before police arrival.
• A 54-year-old man reported to Goshen police at 5:23 p.m. Monday that his vehicle was crashed into in the parking lot of Taco Bell, 4510 Elkhart Road, and that the other driver left the scene.
CRIMINAL RECKLESSNESS
A 57-year-old man reported to Elkhart County deputies at 9:41 p.m. Friday criminal recklessness with a firearm in 25000 C.R. 20 in Elkhart.
BURGLARY
• A 32-year-old man reported to Elkhart County deputies at 11 a.m. Saturday someone broke into his garage during the night and stole over $1,000 in tools from his residents in the 23000 block of Oakleaf Drive North.
• A 45-year-old man reported to Elkhart County deputies that at 3:47 p.m. someone broke into his home in the 30000 block of C.R. 38 in Goshen.
OFFICER’S REPORT
• A 52-year-old woman reported to Elkhart County deputies that someone attempted to enter her home in the 21000 block of C.R. 6 in Elkhart.
• A blue 2018 Chrysler Pacifica, reported stolen out of Anderson, was located being driven near C.R. 17 and Beck Drive around 6:54 p.m. Saturday. The van was able to stop and was recovered.
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF
• A 46-year-old woman reported to Elkhart County deputies at 5:19 p.m. Sunday that someone she knew cut a portion of her fence down.
• A 50-year-old woman reported to Goshen police at 12:18 p.m. Monday being the victim of criminal mischief in the 100 block of East Lincoln Avenue.
• Goshen police received a report at 1 p.m. of a theft of paint from a vehicle at Lowe’s, 2219 Rieth Boulevard.
• Goshen police responded to a call at 10:16 p.m. Monday in regards to a known individual vandalizing property in the 900 block of Middlebury Street.
• A 76-year-old man reported to Elkhart County deputies that between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. someone broke the window of his vehicle in the 51000 block of Eastview Drive.
THEFTS
• A 33-year-old man reported to Goshen police at 2:11 p.m. Sunday that his bag was possibly stolen in Goshen city limits.
• A 49-year-old man reported to Elkhart County deputies at 9:51 a.m. Friday someone stole his cell phone from his vehicle as it was parked in the 25000 block of Rex Street in Elkhart.
• A 69-year-old man reported to Elkhart County deputies that between 6 p.m. Thursday and 12:30 p.m. Friday someone stole a utility trailer from Brown Cemetery in the 12000 block of C.R. 44 in Millersburg.
• A 27-year-old man reported to Elkhart County deputies that between 1 and 7:30 a.m. Saturday someone entered his vehicle while it was parked in the 23000 block of Crestwood Drive in Elkhart and stole items.
• An 18-year-old man reported to Elkhart County deputies at 4:38 p.m. Saturday that someone stole a leaf blower from his trailer while it was parked in the 54000 block of Bradley Street in Elkhart, and fled in a blue Chevrolet SUV.
• A 19-year-old woman reported to Elkhart County deputies on Sunday that someone stole her vehicle from a parking lot in the 52000 block of Brookstream Circle in Elkhart. The vehicle was later recovered by the Indiana State Police.
• A 33-year-old man reported to Goshen police at 7:04 p.m. Monday that someone stole his wallet from his vehicle while in the 1000 block of North Sixth Street.
• A 33-year-old woman reported to Goshen police at 10:55 a.m. Monday that someone she knew took her vehicle without permission while it was parked near the 500 block of Fescue Court.
• A 35-year-old man reported to Elkhart County deputies that between noon April 12 and 6 p.m. April 14 someone stole his house key.
FRAUD
• A 46-year-old woman reported to Elkhart County deputies that his son was the victim of identity deception wherein someone filed a fraudulent tax return using her son’s personal identifiable information for tax year 2021. The woman was alerted by the IRS after her 2023 tax year filing was rejected.
• A 69-year-old woman reported to Elkhart County deputies that between 1 p.m. March 25 and 1 p.m. April 24 fraud was committed.
