By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

Ernest Lavell Dickerson

WARSAW — A South Bend man was recently arrested after allegedly stealing a gas generator and pressure washer from Lowe’s.

Ernest Lavell Dickerson, 21, 1330 Manchester Drive, South Bend, is charged with theft, a class A misdemeanor; and theft with a prior conviction, a level 6 felony.

On Sept. 2, a Warsaw Police officer went to Lowe’s in Warsaw regarding a theft at the store. A store employee told the officer about two thefts that occurred on July 3 and Aug. 15.

According to court documents, store video surveillance showed a man, later identified as Dickerson, entering the store with an empty cart. Dickerson is shown placing a portable gas generator in the cart and going to the store’s refund desk, acting like he was going to return the generator. However, Dickerson told the employee he did not find what he paid for it with and exited the store without paying for the generator, which cost $899.

Surveillance footage also showed Dickerson entering the store on Aug. 15 with an empty cart. Dickerson placed a cold water pressure washer in the cart and repeated the same process he did with the generator. The generator totaled $749.

During his investigation of these incidents, the employee showed the video footage to one of his co-workers. The co-worker recognized the suspect as Dickerson due to previous thefts at a Target store in Elkhart, where the co-worker had been employed.

Dickerson was previously convicted of theft in Lake County on Dec. 17, 2019.

For this case, Dickerson was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Oct. 2, with a $3,600 surety and cash bond.