Porter County Law and Order
October 17, 2012 12:30PM
Updated: November 19, 2012 3:11PM
PORTER COUNTY
Thief drove away over locked gate
A unknown person stole a tractor and trailer overnight from Gator Trucking Inc., driving the truck over the business’ locked front gate.
Employees told police the 1987 Kenworth Motor truck and 45-foot flatbed trailer, each worth $7,000, were stolen between 8 p.m. Tuesday and 4:45 a.m. Wednesday from the business, at 144 E. U.S. 20 in Westchester Township.
The tractor-trailer had been left unlocked with its keys inside. The damage to the gate is estimated at $10,000.
VALPARAISO
Teen tried to sell alcohol at park
Two plainclothes officers monitoring the Valplayso playground called additional officers at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to question four teens behaving suspiciously in the southern part of Glenrose Park, near Lind Lane and McCord Road.
They had two backpacks, one contained a cold bottle of rum and the other held whiskey, which a 16-year-old male told police he was attempting to sell at the park.
The 16-year-old, from Valparaiso, will be charged with underage drinking but was released to a parent. Chad Kenworthy, 19, of Valparaiso was taken to the Porter County Jail on the same misdemeanor charge. Portable breath tests on the other two teens showed they had not consumed alcohol and they were released.
No turn signal leads to drug arrest
Stephen Barncord, 22, of rural Valparaiso, was arrested during a traffic stop for felony possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and on a felony warrant from Porter County.
Police stopped Barncord for switching lanes without using his turn signal at about 2:20 p.m. Tuesday, at U.S. 30 and County Road 475W. Since Barncord was wanted for allegedly dealing marijuana, police said, they were preparing his vehicle to be impounded when an officer found a bottle of a narcotic painkiller, prescribed to a woman Barncord described as a friend, under the driver’s seat.
