Claypool Man Arrested As Second Suspect In Elkhart Walmart Incident
CLAYPOOL — The second subject reported as a suspicious person at a Walmart parking lot the morning of Wednesday, March 21, has been identified.
Seth Aaron Carlos Allen, 28, Claypool, was found to have a warrant for his arrest for felonies of possession of a handgun and for delivering a controlled substance – methamphetamine, was taken into custody by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and booked into the St. Joseph County Jail.
Allen is scheduled to appear in federal court at 2 p.m. Friday, March 23. Local charges for Allen are being requested through the Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office for conspiracy to impersonate a public servant, a level 6 felony, and conspiracy to commit armed robbery, a Level 3 Felony. The investigation is ongoing as investigators continue to search for the third party involved in this incident.
Joseph P. Gerber, 37, Warsaw, was arrested yesterday, March 21, and incarcerated at the Elkhart County Correctional facility for unlawful possession of a police radio, a class B misdemeanor; carrying a handgun without a permit, a class A misdemeanor; obliterating identifying marks on a handgun, felony; and for conspiracy to commit armed robbery, a level 5 felony.
Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department officers responded to a complaint of suspicious persons who were parked in a vehicle in the Walmart parking lot located at 30830 Old US Highway 20 in Elkhart. Upon officers’ arrival, two subjects were located in the vehicle with a handgun found in plain view. Officers continued their investigation and learned that a third subject had entered into the store which prompted officers to evacuate and search the building in an attempt to locate this individual. Officers were not able to find the third person and store video confirmed that the subject in question had already left the premises.
The Sheriff’s Department applauds the quick actions of employees to report suspicious activity which allowed for early police intervention into this situation.