Gunkel and Swick Arrested For Fishing Equipment Theft
WARSAW — A Chapman Lake man and a Macy man were arrested on charges of removing items from a shed at a cottage.
Kurtis Michael Gunkel, 41, 55 EMS C29A Lane, Warsaw, was arrested early Monday morning and has been initially charged with theft, a level 6 felony.
Eric Warren Swick, 35, 13663 N. Macy Millark, Macy, was arrested today, May 4, on initial charges of burglary and theft.
A witness to the thefts notified the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department Sunday, May 1. The witness said he believed he had just witnessed two males break into a shed at a cottage and remove a boat motor. He stated the individuals arrived at the home and opened the hood of their vehicle. One individual pretended to be working on the motor, while the other went to the shed and removed items. The witness could hear one individual telling the other to hurry up. The witness took photographs of the vehicle and provided them to police.
Police went to location of the theft and found the hasp on a shed door had been bent. The homeowner stated he had left the residence for a short time and when he returned, found the shed had been broken into. He found his fishing poles and boat motor missing. The missing items are valued at $1,000.
After being shown a photograph of the vehicle involved, a county officer identified it as belonging to Gunkle. Gunkle was located and admitted to police he was at that resident with Swick. Swick had told him it was the home of a relative and he could get fishing poles out of the shed.
Police went to Swick’s residence where they found a fishing pole and reel lying in the yard. The pole was obtained by police and shown to the victim, who identified it as one of the poles stolen.
Police learned Gukle was convicted of conversion on March 21, 1995, and Swick was convicted of conversion on Aug. 30, 2012.