Staff Report

Krystle Rose Carpenter

WARSAW — A woman was recently arrested after allegedly stealing two generators from Menards in Warsaw.

Krystle Rose Carpenter, 33, 953 Cherry St., Niles, Mich., is charged with two counts of theft, both class A misdemeanors; and two counts of theft with a prior conviction, both level 6 felonies.

On Aug. 20, 2021, a Warsaw Police officer went to Menards regarding two theft incidents reported on June 22 July 10 of 2021. Upon arrival, the store manager showed the officer surveillance video of each theft.

According to court documents, video footage from June 22, 2021, shows a woman placing a generator on a cart. The woman pushed the generator past all points of sale and exited the store without paying for it. The July 10 footage shows the same pattern of activity as the woman left Menards without paying for the item. Theft of the items represented a total loss of $1,498 to Menards.

In the July 10, 2021, incident, the woman was accompanied by a man.

On Aug. 31, 2021, pictures of the man and woman were posted on the Warsaw Police Department’s Facebook page for assistance in identifying the suspects. As a result of the posting, a Warsaw Police detective received Carpenter’s name. At the time, Carpenter was incarcerated in the St. Joseph County Jail. Court documents did not specify if the man has been identified.

The detective used surveillance video and Carpenter’s booking photo to identify her as the suspect. Upon meeting the detective, Carpenter allegedly refused to talk about the thefts.

Carpenter has a prior conviction for conversion in St. Joseph County, with a conviction entered in September 2019.

Carpenter has a total of five pending criminal cases in St. Joseph County, with charges including theft, conversion, unlawful possession of a syringe and false informing.

For the Warsaw theft case, Carpenter was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Jan. 5 with a $5,250 surety and cash bond.