Cordero Ja Chonne Tramble

WARSAW — A man is in custody after stealing 13 bottles of liquor from a local Meijer.

Cordero Ja Chonne Tramble, 25, 7811 Carolina Place, Merrillville, is being charged with count I corrupt business influence, a level 5 felony, and count II theft, a class A misdemeanor with a sentence enhancement to a level 6 felony.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, an officer with the Warsaw Police Department responded to a theft at Meijer on Oct. 3. Loss prevention at Meijer advised the officer that several bottles of liquor had been found to be missing from the stock.

When loss prevention viewed the surveillance footage, on Oct. 1 two males could be seen entering the store and going to the liquor aisle where they proceeded to load 13 bottles of Patron Silver into a duffle bag.

Tramble and the other male subject separated in the store. Tramble exited the store and entered a white Ford truck. He proceeded to drive to the exit doors where the other male subject left the store without paying for the liquor and entered the vehicle.

According to the affidavit, loss prevention further advised that Meijer corporate office was familiar with Tramble and the other male subject. The pair had been stealing with the same “modus operandi” from 13 other Meijer stores in Illinois and Indiana.

Loss prevention provided the officer with photographs of Tramble and the other male from the surveillance. The officer obtained the duo’s driver license photos and was able to identify them as the same subjects.

Tramble was convicted of theft from a Walmart store on May 31 in Laporte County.

Cordero Ja Chonne Tramble is being held at Kosciusko County Jail for corrupt business influence with a bond of $10,250 surety and cash.