Law and Order Porter County

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Updated: February 13, 2012 5:28PM

VALPARAISO

Man broke into daycare center

An unknown man got inside Growing Kids Learning Centers after it closed Friday night. Surveillance video showed him unlocking the front door after several attempts on its keypad, walking around the daycare center with a carton of orange juice and urinating on a rug in one of the classrooms, according to the police report. He left moments before police arrived at about 11 p.m. to check on an alarm and found no one in the building.

The man is described as having brown hair and appearing in his early to mid-20s. He was wearing dark shoes, light pants and a dark patterned jacket.

PORTER COUNTY

Unknown driver backed into rescuer

After Shane Peeler used his truck to pull a car out of a ditch at about 11:45 p.m. Friday, the vehicle ran into him, briefly pinning him between the two vehicles. The 26-year-old South Haven man said the driver got out of the car and said he would follow him to the hospital - Peeler’s passenger drove him - but the hit-and-run driver never showed, according to the police report.

Peeler was kneeling between the vehicles to take off the tow straps when the black Pontiac backed up for an unknown reason, police said. The incident happened near the intersection of County Roads 625W and 700N, a short distance south of Porter hospital in Portage, where Peeler was treated.

Man falsely claimed ex had hit-and-run

Nicholas McCorkle called for police and an ambulance, saying his ex-girlfriend ran over his leg with her vehicle at about 3 a.m. Saturday outside his home in the 1700 block of Greenview Avenue, southwest of Valparaiso. He did not have any injuries, however, and eventually admitted making up the story in order to gain custody of their child, police said. McCorkle, 29, who was intoxicated, was arrested for misdemeanor false informing.

Repeat drunken driver hospitalized

Emery Monek, 21, of Hebron, was admitted to Porter hospital after crashing into a fence at the Porter County Expo Center at about 4:10 a.m. Sunday. A pole went through the windshield and into the driver’s seat, police said. A witness told police Monek’s pickup was going south on Indiana 49, but in the northbound lanes, when it veered off the road. Police said Monek’s blood-alcohol level was more than three-and-a-half times the legal limit, and he will be charged with drunken driving, a felony because of a prior conviction.

Pickup left in ditch gone by morning

An 80-year-old Hobart resident reported his maroon 1996 GMC Sonoma was stolen from where it slid into a ditch during heavy snow at about 11 p.m. Friday. The man believed his accident happened in the area of County Road 450W and 700N and said another couple picked up him and his wife and allowed them to stay with them for the night, then drove them home in the morning. When he went to check on the pickup at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, it was gone. Police searched the area and contacted all local tow companies, but the truck was not found.

Infant almost struck by dish

A newborn girl was narrowly missed by a thrown dish during an argument between her 21-year-old mother and 19-year-old aunt. The younger sister told police at about 9:40 p.m. Sunday, Jessica Berndt allegedly threw the glass dish at her, and grabbed her arm, scratching it, for taking too long to let her inside the family home in the 500 block of Danlee Drive, in Portage Township. The infant was left in a relative’s care.

Shove sent woman down staircase

William Miller, 33, of rural Valparaiso, was jailed for felony domestic battery after he returned a shove from his estranged girlfriend, causing her to fall down the stairs and receive several injuries. The incident happened at about 12:30 p.m. Saturday as the couple argued and Miller, who recently had moved out, gathered some of his belongings from the 33-year-old woman’s home on west County Road 850N, in rural Valparaiso. The woman admitted pushing Miller but said he grabbed her first.

Jewelry taken in home break-in

Sometime in the past two weeks, a burglar targeted a house in the 100 block of Blackthorn Drive, west of Indiana 49 in Morgan Township. Gold, diamond and jade jewelry were among the objects stolen. A rear door to the house and a sliding door were damaged, bringing the loss to approximately $3,400.

CHESTERTON

Bus crashed because it got taller

A bus struck the edge of a canopy at Best Western, 558 Indian Boundary Road, causing $5,000 to $10,000 worth of damages. Driver Melvin Jones of Calumet City, Ill, told police that at about 3:50 p.m. Saturday, he pulled under the canopy to let out his passengers. Once they were off, he pulled forward to park but the top of the bus struck the overhang. Jones told police the air suspension released without the weight of the passengers, so the bus became too tall for the space. No one was injured.

Drunken driver says vehicle stolen

Jacob Klopfer, 22, of rural Valparaiso, was arrested for drunken driving after he called police at about 4:10 a.m. Saturday to report his vehicle was stolen from the Upper Deck Lounge, 139 1/2 Calumet Road. However, since he made the call from two-and-a-half miles away from the bar and only half a mile away from where his vehicle slid off an ice-covered road and swiped several trees before landing in a ditch, in the 1000 block of North Fifth Street, police soon convinced him to tell the truth to avoid additional charges, according to the arrest report.

Arrested man’s ring matched injuries

Damien Hoffman, 28, of Knox, was arrested for domestic battery and driving with a suspended license on Indiana 49, just north of Porter Avenue. At about 4:35 p.m. Saturday, police responded to a physical altercation on the side of the road and found Hoffman with blood on his hands. A woman with him had a cut on her forehead and bruises that matched Hoffman’s ring, police said; and despite Hoffman’s denial, she said he had been driving. Passers-by told police they saw the couple pushing each other but the man appeared to be the aggressor.

Argument ended with drug arrest

Thomas Cahillane, 24, was arrested on three felony drug charges when police responded to an argument between him and a woman at about 5:40 p.m. Sunday, at their home in the 100 block of South 15th Street. The woman told police she believed he hid narcotics in their laundry room, and officers found a toaster pastry box there that contained heroin wrapped in a $5 bill, a hypodermic needle and Xanax that Cahillane had not been prescribed.

Gun, laptop, cash taken from home

A .22 caliber pistol, approximately $600 cash and a laptop computer, worth $1,400 altogether, were reported stolen in a home burglary between Thursday and 4:25 p.m. Friday, in the 200 block of South Calumet Road. The resident told police she found a window open when she returned home.

PORTAGE

Alleged battery took place in front of child

Andrew Williams, 23, was arrested for felony domestic battery at about 10:40 p.m. Sunday at his home, in the 600 block of Camelot Manor. According to police, Williams allegedly battered a 20-year-old Portage woman while a child was in the same room. The victim had multiple visible injuries to her arms, the back of her head and her face, police said.