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Stolen car leads to brief pursuit, arrest by GPD
A 41-year-old Parke County man is facing multiple criminal charges as a result of an incident that began Tuesday with a stolen car in Hendricks County and ended with his arrest behind a Greencastle strip center.
Walter Kevin Reiss of Rockville was lodged in the Putnam County Jail after he was arrested by Greencastle Police Officer Kyle Lee following a brief pursuit Tuesday afternoon.
The incident reportedly began after Sarah Tincher, Danville, came to the Greencastle Police Station Tuesday afternoon, advising she thought she had spotted her stolen 2011 Toyota Camry in Greencastle. The car had been reported stolen earlier near Danville.
Officer Lee was westbound on Franklin Street when he passed a vehicle matching the description of the stolen car heading eastbound. He turned his squad car around, initiating a traffic stop of the vehicle near DePauw Avenue.
But the driver, later identified as Reiss, took off eastbound, running a red light at the Franklin Street-Indianapolis Road intersection and turning into the Kroger shopping center.
In an attempt to get away, Reiss drove behind the Kroger store but ended up putting the car in a ravine at the rear of the strip center that adjoins the Kroger lot to the east, police reported.
Taking off on foot, Reiss reportedly ran into a wooded area that separates the shopping center and Deer Meadow School to the north. There Lee quickly apprehended the suspect who reportedly had trouble staying on his feet in the muddy area.
Lee's K9 partner, Cain, stayed in the back of the squad car since the incident unfolded so quickly.
Reiss is facing charges of resisting law enforcement with a motor vehicle, criminal recklessness and auto theft.
A passenger in the car, Wendy Matthews, 47, Danville, was also arrested, but only on a Union County warrant. Described as cooperative, she has not been charged with anything relative to the pursuit.