A Valparaiso man taken into custody on Saturday following a high-speed pursuit is believed to be responsible for the burglary of the Roadhouse Bar & Grill at 4 W. U.S. Highway 6 in Liberty Township, the Porter County Sheriff’s Police said.

Wade A. Roberts, 21, of 3810 Vale Park Road, is facing a charge of burglary in addition to other charges filed against him in connection with the pursuit, police said.

Lt. Chris Eckert told the Chesterton Tribune today that investigators interviewing Roberts on Saturday found him to have been involved in the Roadhouse burglary, later that day executed a search warrant at his residence, and recovered both a handgun and $3,000 in cash stolen from the bar.

The Roadhouse was entered sometime between 6 a.m. Thanksgiving Day and 9 a.m. Friday after the establishment’s power, cable, and security system lines were cut outside and a rear window forced open. The cash was removed from a hidden safe, the contents of a metal change box taken, a key from the office used to open and empty a change machine in the bar area, several bottles of liquor stolen, and the hard drive from the security surveillance system removed, police said. In addition, a handgun belonging to the owner of the Roadhouse was taken. Police estimated total damage and loss at $5,480.

Roberts was taken into custody in the early morning hours on Saturday at an apartment in the 700 block of Heritage Road in South Haven following a pursuit begun in Portage and continued into South Haven and Liberty Township. Police said that Roberts drove at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour and with his headlights off before losing his pursuers in the area of Meridian Road and C.R. 600N, then doubled back to the South Haven apartment, where an officer spotted a parked car matching the suspect vehicle’s description. A K-9 unit then hit on Roberts in the apartment, police said.

Roberts was charged with three counts of resisting law enforcement, reckless driving, residential entry, operating while intoxicated, and driving while suspended-prior in connection with the pursuit, police said.

Posted 12/3/2009