Staff Report

Ridley Lee Brown

WARSAW — More information has been released on a Warsaw man who led officers on a high-speed vehicle pursuit after allegedly attempting to steal items from Walmart.

Ridley Lee Brown, 44, 502 Oldfather St., Warsaw, is charged with resisting law enforcement and theft with a prior conviction, both level 6 felonies; theft, a class A misdemeanor; and resisting law enforcement with a prior conviction, a level 5 felony.

On Aug. 11, a Warsaw Police officer responded to a theft report at Walmart. The officer learned the suspect, later identified as Brown, left the store and entered a maroon SUV.

According to court documents, the officer saw Brown driving the SUV, failing to stop at a stop sign and cutting off another vehicle. When the officer attempted to pull him over, Brown immediately disregarded a stop light and turned onto US 30. A pursuit began, reaching speeds of 115 mph. During the pursuit, Brown disregarded a red light at US 30 and CR 150W.

A Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office deputy deployed stop sticks that hit all four of the SUV’s tires. However, Brown continued to flee. Officers were able to box the SUV in, terminate the pursuit, and take Brown into custody. Two responding WPD officers’ vehicles were damaged during the pursuit, including front-end damage and chipped windshields.

Surveillance footage from Walmart showed Brown walking through the store with a bucket containing multiple items. When Brown attempted to leave the store without paying for the items, he was stopped by asset protection employees. Brown left the bucket in the store and left the scene.

The total value of the items Brown attempted to steal was $398.59.

Brown has an extensive criminal history, with prior convictions for narcotic drug possession, burglary, intimidation, resisting law enforcement, and meth possession. All of these crimes occurred in Kosciusko County.

Brown was also on pre-trial release at the time of the Aug. 11 incident for a theft and battery case in Elkhart County.

Brown was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Aug. 11.