Staff Report

Cory Allen Martin

Nicholas Jay Silva

WARSAW — Two men from Warsaw were arrested after wrecking a vehicle they allegedly stole.

Cory Allen Martin, 33, 111 S. Wood St. Apartment A., Warsaw; and Nicholas Jay Silva, 21, 611 N. Park Ave., Warsaw, are each charged with auto theft, a level 6 felony.

On Jan. 24, a Warsaw Police officer went to a location to speak with a man about a stolen vehicle. Upon arrival, the man said he was notified by the Wabash County Sheriff’s Department that a vehicle registered to him was involved in a single-vehicle accident.

According to court documents, the man told officers he last drove his vehicle on Jan. 20 and that it had been parked since then. He said he did not give anyone permission to drive his vehicle and only found out it was gone when he was contacted by police.

At the time of the crash, officers determined the driver of the stolen vehicle was Silva. A Warsaw officer went to the scene of the accident and met with a Wabash County officer, who said Silva had confessed to driving the stolen vehicle during the accident. The vehicle had extensive damage and it was clear the vehicle was involved in a rollover accident.

The Warsaw officer then spoke with Silva, who admitted to driving the vehicle and knowing it was stolen. However, he allegedly claimed that he did not steal the vehicle but that Martin had stolen the vehicle and picked him up.

An employee of a local wrecker service in Kosciusko County told officers he towed a vehicle belonging to a woman in Wabash County. The employee said Martin was present at that time and was exhibiting some kind of head injury; he believed him to be involved in the rollover incident involving Silva.

The Warsaw officer then went to Martin’s residence, where he was met by the woman whose vehicle was towed. Martin was unresponsive at his home and medical personnel was requested to come to the scene. Emergency responders administered Narcan and, after some time, Martin became responsive and was taken to Kosciusko Community Hospital.

Surveillance footage for the apartments where Martin resided was provided to the Warsaw officer. In the footage, the stolen vehicle is shown arriving in the area and briefly stopping to allow a person to enter the vehicle. Clothing on one of the subjects in the footage matched clothing worn by Silva. The other person appeared to be Martin.

During an interview at the hospital, Martin allegedly denied being in Wabash County that day and provided numerous responses that contradicted evidence the officer had collected.

Martin has an initial hearing on this case at 1 p.m. on March 11.