Staff Report

Austin Wayne Winright

SYRACUSE — An Elkhart man was arrested after allegedly burglarizing a golf club in Syracuse.

Austin Wayne Winright, 33, 1122 Maple Row, Elkhart, is charged with burglary, a level 5 felony; and two counts of theft, both level 6 felonies.

On April 13, a Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a burglary at Maxwelton Golf Club in Syracuse. A golf club employee said golf clubs, bags, and gear were stolen from a storage building near the pro shop. The financial loss was around $50,000.

Surveillance footage showed two individuals entering the storage building around 10 p.m. April 12.

A witness said he saw a white cargo van parked in front of the storage building on April 12.

On April 15, a Goshen Police officer pulled over a stolen white cargo van. Inside the van, officers found golf grips, shoes, gloves, and other golf items. The box of golf grips had a Maxwelton Golf Club shipping sticker.

According to court documents, the van’s driver said he had been living in the vehicle with Winright. He said they were driving in the vehicle on April 12, but he denied stealing any golf items.

On April 17, a KCSO detective discovered a set of golf clubs and a golf bag had been pawned at a store in Goshen. The detective and golf club employee went to the store and identified the items as ones taken during the burglary.

The items were pawned by a woman, and Winright was present at the time of the transaction. The woman received $200 during the transaction. Officers spoke with the woman, who said Winright contacted her on April 16 and asked her to pawn golf items for gas money. She met Winright at a storage unit and saw there were boxes of shoes, clothing, golf clubs, and golf bags inside the unit.

Officers obtained a search warrant for the unit. Inside, officers found various items which were stolen in the Maxwelton burglary.

A second KCSO detective discovered Winright pawned golf clubs at two different stores in Elkhart. One pawn shop’s manager said Winright pawned a leaf blower and a set of golf clubs at the shop. Another employee described one transaction involving an unnamed individual and Winright as “like a drug dealer controlling his user.”

Officers also determined Winright pawned golf clubs at a shop in South Bend.

Winright has prior convictions for vehicle theft, fraud, and escape. He was also on pretrial release at the time of this incident for resisting law enforcement in St. Joseph County.

Winright was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on May 9.