By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

Taylor E. Swenson

WARSAW — A Fort Wayne man will serve a three-year sentence locally after burglarizing a Pierceton business.

Taylor E. Swenson, 21, Fort Wayne, was charged with burglary, a level 5 felony. An auto theft charge was dismissed.

Swenson was sentenced in Kosciusko Superior Court Three on Tuesday, April 12.

On July 13, 2019, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s officers went to Loose Moose Motorsports in Pierceton for a theft report. Upon arrival, officers spoke with an employee who provided surveillance footage of the theft.

According to court documents, in the video, a U-Haul truck is seen backing into the business’s gate around 3 a.m. on July 13, 2019. Three people are shown exiting the vehicle and forcibly entering the business by dismantling the fence gate. The truck was then backed into the business where ATVs were stored. Five ATV motor vehicles of various make and color were loaded into the truck.

Physical evidence at the scene was connected to Swenson. During an interview with an officer, Swenson said he had been involved with stealing vehicles in Fort Wayne but that he had never been to Warsaw or Pierceton.

A DNA sample from Swenson matched physical evidence found at the scene.

For burglary, Kosciusko Superior Court Three Judge Chad Miner sentenced Swenson to three years at the Kosciusko County Jail. Two years of the sentence was suspended on probation, and one year was ordered executed.

The sentence will be served consecutively to a narcotic drug possession case Swenson has out of Allen County.

He was also ordered to pay $500 in restitution to Loose Moose Motorsports and $40,673.28 in restitution to Erie Insurance.

Judge Miner said he had no objection to Swenson serving his executed sentence through the county’s work release or community corrections programs.

Swenson must report for execution of his sentence on May 6 if he is not hooked up with community corrections by that date.