Staff Report

Rick Leslie Kensinger

WARSAW — A Warsaw man was arrested after officers discovered he stole multiple items from a storage unit.

Rick Leslie Kensinger, 40, 503 W. Center St., Warsaw, is charged with burglary, a level 5 felony; theft, possession of methamphetamine and possession of a syringe, all level 6 felonies; and possession of paraphernalia, a class C misdemeanor.

On April 9, Warsaw Police officers responded to a report of items being stolen from a storage unit. A man said multiple large construction tools had been taken from his unit. The man said he spoke to the maintenance employee for the storage facility and was told the units were checked for locks every Monday and Friday, and that the man’s unit had a lock on it on Monday, April 5.

According to court documents, officers searched the area and found a white van on the other side of the storage locker facility. Officers decided to approach the vehicle and see if the occupants had any information related to the theft. One of the officers said he had seen the vehicle parked at the facility frequently in the past. The people in the van, one of which being Kensinger, were seen moving from the vehicle to the storage units several times.

When asked if he was missing items from his storage unit, Kensinger said he had items missing in the past but not recently. Officers asked for consent to search Kensinger’s storage unit and vehicle but Kensinger denied consent. The officers were aware that a red auger was stolen from the man’s storage unit and noticed a partially covered red auger in Kensinger’s vehicle.

When he was asked about the red auger, Kensinger said he had purchased the auger and several other items in the vehicle from a friend.

A K9 unit was used at the scene and made a positive alert for illegal drugs in the vehicle. A search was then conducted.

While searching the vehicle, officers found multiple items the man had reported stolen from his storage unit. They also found several drug items inside the vehicle, including a container with methamphetamine inside, 14 syringes and various drug paraphernalia.

Kensinger said he was renting a storage unit at the facility but denied consent for officers to search the unit. During an interview with officers, Kensinger admitted to using methamphetamine and claimed he purchased the stolen storage unit items from a friend.

He said some of the items belonging to the man were in his storage unit. In front of Kensinger’s storage unit, officers found a bag containing methamphetamine.

Officers were granted a search warrant for Kensinger’s storage unit and found several of the man’s stolen items inside.

The total value of the items stolen from the man was greater than $750 and less than $50,000.

Kensinger was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on April 9.