A motorist who led an officer on a pursuit into downtown Chesterton, through Liberty Township and into South Haven early Sunday, is facing multiple charges, the Chesterton Police Department is reporting.
The 29-year-old man—who has a listed address in Valparaiso but advised the CPD that he’s currently homeless—has been charged with three counts of resisting law enforcement; two counts of criminal mischief; and one each of reckless driving, criminal recklessness, and possession of paraphernalia, the CPD said.
According to police, at around 12 a.m. an officer was on routine patrol when he observed a suspicious vehicle—a Honda Civic—parked between two businesses, at the rear of one of the business’s parking lots by the gate. The Honda exited the lot onto southbound South Calumet Road and then proceeded eastbound on East Porter Avenue, then southbound on State Road 49. The officer determined through a computer check that the Honda’s registered owner is a Gary resident to whom no driver’s license has been issued, the CPD said.
After watching the Honda drift across the fog line, the officer prepared to execute a traffic stop, with the idea of directing the driver to a gas station parking lot, but then didn’t have to because the driver pulled into the parking lot himself.
“The driver continued slowly through the parking lot toward the pumps and then struck the curb closest to Ind. 49,” the officer stated in his report. “As the vehicle crossed in front of my squad car, the driver opened the door as he if [sic] was going to run on foot but then quickly closed it and accelerated onto Gateway Blvd.”
The officer then followed the Honda on a “zig-zagging route,” eventually ending up southbound on Capital Road until the suspect “crashed the Honda into the closed garage door of (an) attached garage” in the 700 block.
The suspect fled on foot into a wooded area but was eventually located and apprehended by officers, police said.
The suspect was found to have a “used glass methamphetamine pipe” on him and “several” more used smoking devices inside his vehicle, according to police.
“The inside of the vehicle was full of trash and very dirty but we located two Apple iPads, multiple cell phones, several different watches, keys, baseball cards, .22 caliber ammunition, and miscellaneous jewelry throughout the vehicle,” the officer said.
The suspect “admitted to smoking methamphetamine just prior to my getting behind him on Calumet Road,” the officer noted in his report.
The suspect was transported to Porter County Jail.