A Valparaiso resident and a Monticello resident were arrested Friday on a charge of burglary after an alert resident in Morgan Township observed suspicious activity at a neighbor’s, the Porter County Sheriff’s Police said.

According to police, at 9:31 a.m. a resident of the 400 block of C.R. 300S reported a possible burglary in progress in his neighborhood after two male subjects fled from him, one on foot into the woods behind the house, the other in a vehicle.

Officers subsequently found that a back window on the home had been forced. They also found a back sliding glass door open and several bags and a large-screen television abandoned on the lawn just outside the sliding glass door.

Sgt. Matt Edwards and his K-9 partner, Joker, responded to the scene and subsequently tracked and apprehended Timothy Ericksen, 28, of Monticello, who had been hiding in the wooded area behind the home, police said.

Ericksen was treated at Porter hospital for dog bites to the leg, then medically cleared and transported to Porter County Jail, police said.

Det. Com. Jeff Biggs and Det. Sgt. Tim Manteuffel later joined the investigation and developed information leading to the apprehension of the subject believed to have fled the scene in the vehicle, identified as Aaron Steed, 21, of Valparaiso, police said.

Ericksen and Steed were both being held without bond on a charge of burglary.

“It is believed that both subjects are responsible for other burglaries in the area and the investigation is still ongoing,” police said.

“This is an excellent example of how valuable it is to have neighbors watching out for each other and calling in any suspicious activity that they observe,” police added. “Most burglaries occur during the daytime since many residents are at work during the day, so we urge residents to call police for any suspicious vehicles in their neighbors’ driveways or suspicious persons walking through yards or the neighborhood.”

Posted 6/11/2012