Texas Teen Arrested; Found In Warsaw With Missing Girl From Ohio
Staff Report
WARSAW — A teenager from Texas was arrested in Warsaw after police discovered his involvement in a missing juvenile case from Ohio.
Joel Trejo Lindeman, 19, Mission, Tex., is charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a level 6 felony; contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a class A misdemeanor; possession of marijuana, a class B misdemeanor; and possession of paraphernalia, a class C misdemeanor.
On July 19, a Warsaw Police officer received information about a 2007 gray Ford Fusion with registration from Ohio traveling along US 30 in connection with a missing Ohio juvenile investigation. A second Warsaw officer assisted in the search and found the vehicle at a gas station in Warsaw.
Officers saw the individual believed to be the missing juvenile sitting in the vehicle’s passenger seat. The girl’s name and age are not provided in court documents.
According to Lindeman’s affidavit of probable cause, when the girl opened the vehicle’s passenger door, officers noticed a strong smell of marijuana. Dispatch confirmed that the juvenile was the individual reported missing from Ohio. The juvenile told officers that their boyfriend, Lindeman, was inside the gas station. A short time later, Lindeman returned to the vehicle.
Lindeman told officers that he had been in a long-distance relationship with the juvenile for several years and had traveled from Texas to start a new life in Chicago with the juvenile.
Lindeman admitted to leaving the juvenile’s home and taking the 2007 Ford Fusion without permission. He said the vehicle’s keys were laying on the dash while parked at a residence in Knox County, Ohio, near Columbus. Lindeman also said he did not have parental consent to take the juvenile to live with him in Chicago.
While searching the stolen vehicle, officers found various drug paraphernalia and three small glass containers of marijuana. They also discovered several vape pens. Lindeman told officers that all drug-related items in the vehicle were his property.
One of the officers then spoke with a woman who said that they noticed the juvenile was missing from their home around 3:30 a.m. July 19. She also said the 2007 Ford Fusion belonged to her and was stolen from the home.
Lindeman is currently wanted on an arrest warrant from Knox County, Ohio for grand theft of a motor vehicle in connection to this case.
Lindeman was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on July 19, with a $10,250 surety and cash bond.