Caller stops spree

A tip led state police to arrest a Bartholomew County man over the weekend, stopping what police described as a multi-county crime spree.

Indiana State Police Trooper Stephen Wheeles responded to a report Saturday of a suspicious person at the White River Fish and Game Club in the Rockford area north of Seymour.

While waiting for police to arrive, the caller obtained an Indiana identification card from the suspicious person who was driving a truck. The card identified the man as Jason Artis, Sgt. Donald Gregory of the ISP said.

The truck — later reported stolen — sped away with a big screen TV in the bed before troopers arrived to investigate.

Artis, 36, Elizabethtown, was arrested on charges of auto theft, theft, theft of checks and check deception, receiving or possessing stolen property and burglary or attempted burglary, Gregory said.

When he arrived at the fish and game club, Wheeles was told a man in a red pickup had been hanging around one of the trash bins and was given the vehicle’s license plate number along with the identification card the driver had left behind.

Wheeles found items in the trash can that appeared to be stolen from a residence in Seymour. A check on the truck’s registration plate came back to an Elizabethtown address in Bartholomew County.

But as troopers were en route to that address, they were informed by the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department that the owner of the truck had called, wanting to report it as stolen. Troopers met with the truck’s owner, who said he discovered it missing after getting off work. It had been parked in the Azalia area.

Troopers then went to the address on the paperwork found in the trash bin. Troopers discovered that the homeowners were unaware their home had recently been burglarized. During the investigation it was revealed the suspect had attempted to cash a stolen check at a Seymour business.

The pickup, television and other stolen items have been recovered, police said.

An off-duty trooper in the Columbus area spotted the suspect at a Columbus store while troopers were still uncovering the details of the case. The suspect was arrested with the assistance of Columbus Police Department officers.

The ongoing investigation allegedly implicates the suspect in an attempted burglary of a Seymour pharmacy and theft of money from a purse in a parked car at the Seymour Cracker Barrel, Gregory said.

Wheeles is currently looking for the victim of the theft at Cracker Barrel, which took place between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Saturday. Wheeles may be reached at the Seymour Post by calling  (812) 522-1441.