Staff Report

Justin Allen Kolbe

WARSAW — A Granger man was arrested after allegedly burglarizing a Warsaw business and stealing a boat and golf cart from the Barbee Lakes area.

Justin Allen Kolbe, 39, Granger, is charged with burglary, a level 5 felony; two counts of theft where the value of property is between $750 and $50,000, both level 6 felonies; theft, a class A misdemeanor; and unauthorized entry of a vehicle and battery, both class B misdemeanors.

On Aug. 16, a Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a burglary in progress at Lakelife Bar and Grill, in the Barbee Lakes area.

According to court documents, the business’s owner said he saw a person walk out of the storage area with their arms full of alcohol bottles. The person placed the bottles in a parked vehicle.

When the owner went to investigate, he saw a man and woman in the storage area holding frozen food items. The man was later identified as Kolbe, who rushed the owner when he said he was calling the police.

Kolbe allegedly shoved the owner out of the doorway and entered the vehicle. The owner reached inside the vehicle and turned it off, breaking the key in the ignition. Kolbe and the woman then fled on foot.

Several bottles of alcohol, food packages, and identifying information for Kolbe were all located inside the vehicle.

About a half-hour after this incident, a KCSO deputy responded to a report of a boat being stolen from a nearby residence. A woman said she saw Kolbe unsecure the boat from a pier and push it toward the open water. Other concerned boaters who believed the boat belonged to Kolbe asked if he needed a tow and brought him across the lake. After getting across the lake, Kolbe left the area on foot.

Shortly after this, North Webster Police officers received a report about Kolbe entering three parked vehicles and rummaging through them. When confronted by a resident, Kolbe said he was looking for his dog and left the area on foot.

Less than an hour later, a woman called 911 and said she was stopped at a stop sign to look at her GPS when Kolbe jumped in the front seat of her vehicle and told her he was running from law enforcement. He said he had a large amount of cash in his vehicle and would pay her if she took him where he wanted to go. The woman stopped the vehicle near Irish Lake and Kolbe left on foot.

About 10 minutes later, 911 dispatch received a report about a man stealing a golf cart.

A Warsaw Police officer attempted to locate Kolbe near Oswego and found Kolbe driving the stolen golf cart. Kolbe was taken into custody and did not provide a statement about the incident.

Kolbe was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Aug. 16.