DEKALB COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) – Two Fort Wayne men face theft charges after police discovered they allegedly stole RVs from a Michigan dealership and the trucks they were using to haul the RVS were also reported stolen from Allen County.
According to a release from Indiana State Police, 21-year-old Nicholas Shaneyfelt and 27-year-old Robert Earl Baylock were each charged with Level 5 felony theft and Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement.
Just before 5 p.m. Sunday, dispatchers told ISP two RVs that had been reported stolen in Michigan were spotted on I-69 southbound near a rest stop in Steuben County. According to the release, a state trooper in the area found two pickup trucks, each hauling an RV, near the 340 mile-marker. The trooper noted in the release neither camper had a visible license plate.
When both trucks got off the interstate onto US 6 and turned into a gas station near DeKalb County Road 27, the trooper said he turned on his emergency lights to attempt a traffic stop. Officers with several other agencies came to assist, including the Waterloo Deputy Town Marshall.
Police said in the release the drivers of both trucks got out and, allegedly, initially walked away and then started running away. A trooper and the Deputy Marshal ran after them, and Shaneyfelt was quickly apprehended in a farm field, according to the release.
Baylock kept running, and a “Good Samaritan” passing by in a truck gave the trooper a ride to chase the suspect, according to the release. A K9 with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department tracked Baylock down in a wooded area south of US 6 and CR 27. Baylock was then taken into custody by several assisting officers.
Investigators determined the two Keystone Cougar travel trailers were reported stolen from a dealership in Michigan, and the pickup trucks pulling the RVs were also reported stolen– one from a southwest Allen County business and another from a Fort Wayne home. Arrangements were made with the Michigan dealership to return the trailers, and both trucks were returned to their owners.
The release said Baylock and Shaneyfelt were taken to the Dekalb County Jail and booked into custody.