Chesterton Tribune

 

 

Impersonating charge filed in Kingsbury incident

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A Valparaiso man has been arrested on a charge of impersonating a law enforcement officer, in connection with an incident at Kingsbury Fish & Wildlife Area on Friday, May 19, the Indiana Department of Natural Resource said.

Booked into the LaPorte County Jail on that charge was Austin Shultz, 20, identified by the DNR as having been an employee of the Westville Correctional Facility.

Conservation Officer Shawn Brown told the Chesterton Tribune today that the DNR initially used social media to appeal to the public for assistance. “We developed some leads from that, came up with a suspect, and worked with Westville Correctional,” Brown said.

“The public is amazing, that we can call out to them,” Brown added. “It really helped a lot. And the Conservation Officer kept pushing and pushing.”

According to the DNR, at 11:30 p.m. May 19 three teenagers were fishing near the Kankakee River when the driver of a dark colored Ford Crown Victoria with a bumper guard pulled into the area and shined a spot light on them. The driver, a white male in his early twenties--described as wearing dark-colored BDU-style cargo pants and carrying a holstered handgun and large knife--then exited the vehicle and approached them.

The suspect told the teens that he was responding “on behalf of DNR” to a complaint of someone’s shooting a high-powered rifle, then asked to see their fishing licenses, the DNR said.

However, as the DNR reported, neither the Indiana Conservation Officers’ Central Dispatch Center nor the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Police received any complaint of someone’s firing a high-powered rifle at Kingsbury FWA at any time on Friday.

“Typically, an Indiana Conservation Officer will conduct a fishing license check but any police officer is authorized to check for a fishing or hunting license,” DNR said. “Indiana Conservation Officers assigned to regular field patrol typically drive a fully marked pick-up truck or SUV and wear a complete uniform with a badge and shoulder patches. Officers working in plain clothes will identify themselves by producing a badge and law enforcement credentials.”

Impersonating a law enforcement officer is a Level 6 felony punishable by a term of six months to 30 months.

 

Posted 5/26/2017

 

 
 
 
 

 

 

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