By Staff
CASSOPOLIS – Cass County Sheriff Joseph M. Underwood Jr. reports his deputies working the night shift at approximately 2 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21, conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for defective equipment and found that the occupants had allegedly committed numerous vehicle larcenies, a burglary and a home invasion.
The traffic stop was initiated at the corner of Pleasant Drive and Sunset Boulevard in Porter Township.
Deputies located burglary tools, credit cards and identification that did not belong to the occupants, as well as electronic equipment, frozen food and a John Deere riding lawn mower.
Officers made contact with the subjects whose identification was found and learned that their vehicles had been entered, as well as their attached garage where the frozen food was stored.
It was also learned that the John Deere was taken from a nearby shed and several other vehicles in the area had been entered.
These incidents seemed to have occurred in the area of Wayne Road and Spencer Road of Porter Township, near Union.
Both occupants of the vehicle were arrested and lodged at the Cass County Jail.
Chad Allen Tinsley, 18, of Stateline Road, Elkhart, Ind., and Ryan Tyrone McCormick, 19, of S.R. 120, Bristol, Ind., were both arraigned in Fourth District Court of Cass County with 17 separate counts of various charges of breaking and entering, possession of burglar's tools, larceny from motor vehicles, larceny in a building and financial transaction device-stealing/retaining without consent.
Tinsley's and McCormick's bonds were set at $100,000 each.
The investigation continues, as there has been numerous larcenies from vehicles in the Porter and Mason townships areas and it is believed that there are other persons involved.
Anyone with information pertaining to this or any other crimes is urged to call the Cass County Sheriff's Office at 445-1560 or the anonymous tip line at 1-800-462-9328.