Justin Beach

KOSCIUSKO — A Nappanee man was arrested after allegedly using a dead man’s identity while pawning items at Cashland.

Justin Orville Beach, 37, 451 E. Centennial St., Nappanee, is being charged with two counts of synthetic identify deception; and two counts of forgery, all level 6 felonies. 

According to the affidavit of probable cause, on Feb. 26, the Warsaw Police Department was contacted by a detective at the Goshen Police Department. The detective said he received information that Beach had pawned items at Cashland using the identity of another man, who is deceased.

An officer with the WPD went to Cashland and found record of two transactions in the deceased man’s name. Records showed that on Feb. 13 and 21, tools were sold at Cashland. The name of the seller matches the names of the deceased man. The paperwork had the customer signature of the deceased man. The WPD officer watched the surveillance video and observed Beach selling the tools at Cashland.

The WPD officer spoke with the widow of the deceased man. The woman said after her husband died, she dated Beach. She said she noticed that her late husband’s identification information was missing from her wallet in January or early February. She also observed paperwork from a pawn shop in Warsaw in Beach’s book bag that contained the name of her deceased husband. 

Beach was booked at the Kosciusko County Jail July 15 on a $17,250 surety and cash bond.