Armed robbery report leads to police chase, manhunt
|
|
The tires of a pickup truck that led a police chase late Thursday night were shredded by tire-deflation devices deployed by sheriff's deputies in northwestern Bartholomew County.
Alex James Zschunke, 29, of Nineveh
2:52 p.m. update
Authorities said an Edinburgh police officer fired his gun at the pickup truck on Interstate 65 as the truck was turning around to travel southbound on the highway.
2:48 p.m. update
The driver of the pickup truck that led authorities on a chase after a reported armed robbery has been identified as Alex James Zschunke, 29, of Nineveh. He is being held at the Bartholomew County Jail on a preliminary charge of resisting law enforcement, and authorities are seeking other charges against him today.
2:19 p.m. update
Authorities said a third person was possibly involved in the armed robbery of a truck wash business Thursday night in Taylorsville.
A woman who was driving a sedan may have been involved somehow in the robbery, said Maj. Todd Noblitt, chief deputy of the Bartholomew County Sheriff's Department.
He said a man wearing a mask entered the business around 10:30 p.m. Thursday and threatened a female employee with a weapon. Noblitt did not say what the weapon was.
The man left the business with an undisclosed amount of cash and escaped in an awaiting vehicle.
Employees of the business chased the suspect's vehicle until police arrived.
During a roughly 10-mile police chase that went from Interstate 65 into northwestern Bartholomew County, the driver of the vehicle tossed cash from the window, which authorities later collected, Noblitt said.
The driver, whose name has not been released, was arrested after police stopped him on County Road 500W near Lowell Road.
He was arrested on a preliminary charge of resisting law enforcement. Noblitt said investigators are seeking a warrant today for other charges relating to the robbery. They also are obtaining a search warrant to search the suspect's vehicle.
Authorities are following leads in hopes of finding a man who jumped out of the suspect's vehicle on Interstate 65 and the woman who was possibly involved in the robbery.
Noblitt said the sheriff's department also is working with authorities in Johnson and Marion counties to see if the man is connected to any robberies in those counties.
Original story
TAYLORSVILLE, Ind. — The report of an armed robbery late Thursday at a truck wash in Taylorsville resulted in a police chase and a manhunt involving three police dogs and a police helicopter.
One man was arrested, but a second man eluded authorities after he jumped out of a pickup truck on Interstate 65 just north of the Taylorsville exit.
The robbery was reported around 10:30 p.m. at the truck washing business, authorities said. The suspects' pickup truck reportedly traveled northbound on I-65 from the exit off of U.S. 31 in Taylorsville.
An Edinburgh Police officer was behind the truck when it suddenly drove into the median and across the interstate's southbound lanes, said Maj. Todd Noblitt, chief deputy of the Bartholomew County Sheriff's Department.
He said the truck went off the west side of the interstate, where a passenger jumped out.
The truck got back onto the southbound lanes, and Sheriff's Deputy Justin Arnholt began following the vehicle. Arnholt activated his emergency lights, but the truck did not stop, Noblitt said.
Officers chased the truck as it got off the interstate onto U.S. 31 South at the Taylorsville exit. Noblitt said sheriff's deputies set up tire-deflation devices on U.S. 31 at County Road 650N, but the truck turned west onto Tannehill Road.
The chase continued onto County Road 330W to Ohio Ridge Road and south on County Road 500W, where the truck struck tire-deflation devices.
Officers blocked in the vehicle and stopped it on 500W in the area of Lowell Road, where they arrested the driver. His name has not been released.
An off-duty Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer chased the passenger who jumped out of the truck into a corn field north of the Edinburgh Premium Outlet Mall, Noblitt said.
Officers surrounded the area, including K-9 units from Bartholomew and Johnson County sheriff's departments and Columbus Police Department. An Indiana State Police helicopter also assisted in the manhunt.
They could not find the passenger, Noblitt said.
Authorities collected items that the driver tossed out of the vehicle during the chase and are continuing to investigate.
This story will be updated.
Think your friends should see this? Share it with them!
comments powered by Disqus
