Staff Report

Nicole A. Ludwig

Nolan Kyle Melchi

LEESBURG — Two people from Leesburg were recently arrested after allegedly attempting to prevent officers from completing an arrest.

Nicole A. Ludwig, 33, 63 EMS T16 Lane, Leesburg, is charged with possession of methamphetamine and unlawful possession of a syringe, both level 6 felonies; false informing and driving while suspended prior, both class A misdemeanors; and possession of paraphernalia, a class C misdemeanor.

Nolan Kyle Melchi, 41, 63 EMS T16 Lane, Leesburg, is charged with assisting a criminal, a level 6 felony; and false informing, a class A misdemeanor.

On Nov. 30, a Kosciusko County Sheriff’s deputy attempted to conduct a welfare check on a man. The deputy was provided a possible location but was unable to find the man there.

The deputy left and began traveling west on Armstrong Road when a dark-colored vehicle passed the deputy and failed to dim its high beams. The officer then turned around and pulled the vehicle over.

According to court documents, the sole occupant of the vehicle, later identified as Ludwig, parked near a residence in Leesburg and jumped out of her vehicle. She told the deputy multiple times that she had to use the bathroom really bad. Ludwig also told the deputy that she was there to visit a man, who was the same person the deputy attempted to check on earlier.

Ludwig told the deputy she didn’t have her driver’s license with her and provided him with a false name at that time. The deputy told Ludwig she could use the bathroom and directed her to come right back. However, Ludwig never came back to the vehicle and was believed to have fled or concealed herself within a residence.

While looking through the window of Ludwig’s vehicle, the deputy saw a hypodermic syringe in plain view. Officers later made contact with the registered owner of the vehicle Ludwig was driving. The owner was identified as Melchi, who lived about one mile away from where the traffic stop occurred.

Melchi allegedly told officers that his vehicle was being worked on and that there would be no reason why a woman would be driving his car.

A review of an Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles photo confirmed Ludwig as the driver of the vehicle. It was discovered that Ludwig was wanted on multiple extraditable out-of-county warrants, including one for possession of cocaine or a narcotic drug out of Porter County. Ludwig’s driving privileges were also suspended prior.

A Kosciusko County Sheriff’s deputy drove near the address where the traffic stop occurred about an hour and a half after the incident. He noticed the vehicle Ludwig was driving was now parked at Melchi’s residence. When he knocked on the door to the home, he saw Ludwig through the front door’s window. Melchi refused to let officers into the residence and said no woman resided there.

On a prior occasion in April 2014, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s deputies went to Melchi’s residence regarding both Melchi and Ludwig reporting thefts. Officers also discovered that Melchi and Ludwig have two children together.

With Melchi’s refusal to identify Ludwig or let officers look inside for her, a search warrant was obtained for the residence. Prior to executing the warrant, officers told Melchi they were obtaining a warrant. They told Melchi that if he surrendered Ludwig to officers seeking to serve her arrest warrants, there would be no need for the house to be searched.

Melchi further refused to allow the officers to look inside for Ludwig. Since Melchi refused to answer the door, the SWAT Team had to use force to breach the door. Officers found Ludwig inside the home and took her into custody. While searching Ludwig’s person, officers found a smoking device that tested positive for methamphetamine. The syringe found in the vehicle that Ludwig was driving also tested positive for methamphetamine.

During a jail phone call to a relative, Melchi acknowledged that he did not allow officers to arrest Ludwig. He said he wanted the officers to wait for his children to get on the bus for school before he allowed them to apprehend Ludwig. The search warrant was served around 3:05 a.m.

Melchi and Ludwig were both booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Dec. 1.