Kimbert Alvin Gregory Crafton

SYRACUSE — A man who most recently resided in Syracuse has been arrested for impersonating a law enforcement officer, less than two weeks before sentencing on two other cases.

Kimbert Alvin Gregory Crafton, 32, 609 W. Boston St., Syracuse, was arrested Oct. 6 for impersonating a public servant (law enforcement officer), a level 6 felony. He is being held on $2,250 surety and cash bond.

Crafton is scheduled to appear in Kosciusko Superior Court 3 at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, for sentencing on two separate cases. Through a plea agreement, he has pleaded guilty to attempted theft in one case, and theft and resisting law enforcement, all level 6 felonies, in the other case. All other charges: habitual offender, and corrupt business influence, will be dismissed. He is facing no more than a six year term of incarceration. Any additional term would be suspended and served on probation.

Crafton’s latest arrest stems from events occurring on Oct. 3.

According to court documents the Kosciusko County 911 Communications Center received a call from an individual, stating he was Detective Josh Spangle. The caller stated he wanted to speak with a female. The dispatcher was confused at the request, thinking Spangle had dialed dispatch in error. After telling the caller he had reached the communications center, the caller hung up.

The communications center also received a call from an employee at the Kosciusko Community Hospital Birth Center, stating they had received a suspicious phone call from an individual claiming to be Spangle wanting to speak with a patient. When asked for a badge number, the caller hung up. The employee was able to obtain the telephone number of the caller and was aware Warsaw Police had been called to the emergency room earlier in the evening because Crafton was attempting to gather information on a female.

Due to past communication with Crafton, police were able to verify the number obtained by hospital staff was his. After listening to recordings of the phone call, Crafton’s voice was recognized. Police were also aware Crafton was expecting a child with a female in October and were able to confirm that female was in the hospital.

When police spoke to Crafton, and advising him the call to the communications center was recorded and police believed it had been made by him, he stated he was sorry and asked if he was going to be prosecuted.

Out On Bond

Crafton is no stranger to the court system. He is currently out on bond on charges filed May 4 and May 12. At that time Crafton had an address of 205 Stonewall Court No. 3, Nappanee.

It was Crafton who, on May 11, led police through a three county police chase that ended in Whitley County. Following his arrest and through further investigation, Crafton was found to have stolen a 14-foot trailer from the property of Thomas Tuttle; a 2013 Polaris ATV and trailer from Donna Fisher; and a trailer from an Aluminum Trailer Company construction site in Nappanee. Inside the trailer they found generators and construction tools.

As part of the investigation, Nappanee Police went to Crafton’s former residence in Stonewall Court and found another trailer with another ATV inside. This was later found to be stolen by Ryan Slaughter in Mississippi, and that the trailer had been stolen from an impound lot.

The May 4 arrest stemmed from a March 22 incident in Warsaw where police were notified of an attempted theft of $2,055.84 in merchandise from Walmart. Crafton allegedly put items into boxes he emptied out and in a plastic tool storage box. When the clerk stated she needed to look inside the toolbox, Crafton left the items and the store.

Crafton was identified by Goshen Police Department who were investigating Walmart thefts in their city on March 19 and March 22, in which a similar method was used.

He also had criminal cases in Marshall and Elkhart counties, including being found guilty of a charge of arson for hire resulting in bodily injury, an A felony, in January 2008. A lengthy adult and juvenile criminal record was noted at that time. His 20-year sentence was modified in 2013 and at least 90 days was served in the Elkhart County Correctional Facility for violation of electronic monitoring in 2016.