NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – On December 5th Tuesday morning and December 6th Wednesday morning, the North Manchester Police Department received over 13 reports of unlocked vehicles being gone through and articles stolen from vehicles. On the early morning hours of Wednesday December 6th at 1:30am someone called in on East Orchard Street that they observed a suspicious subject wearing a black hoodie, gray sweatpants, with a backpack. Officers Parker Stouffer and Officer Devin Bechtold checked the area but were unable to locate anyone.
At 4:04 am on December 6th another person called in from North Elm Street area and advised they saw the same description suspect take her purse out of her car and run north with it.
At 4:25 am on December 6th Officer Bechtold observed the suspect walking east across Walnut Street just north of 9th street. As Officer Bechtold exited his vehicle the suspect took off running from officer Bechtold and he chased him for several blocks and lost him around Mill Street and College Avenue. Wabash County Sheriff Deputy Matt Cox arrived also and assisted with his department issued K9. The suspect wasn’t located.
The University was aware of the foot pursuit that night and located video from their campus security cameras which matched the clothing description and backpack of the suspect officer Bechtold had chased. Officer Bechtold came in and identified the person in the campus video as the same person he had chased. Manchester University Campus Security was able to identify the suspect and give the North Manchester Police Department with the student’s name. A residents home video security system also showed the suspect at their residence getting into their vehicle stealing items. The North Manchester Police Department and campus security located the student in Schwalm Hall.
The student is Jacob Hahn age 19 and was brought to the North Manchester Police Department and was questioned in regards to the thefts by Department Sergeant Randy miller. Jacob Hahn is being charged with the thefts from vehicles and resisting arrest. The charges are being sent to the Wabash County Prosecutor’s office for review and if probable cause is found a warrant will be issued for his arrest. A criminal charge is merely an accusation. Every defendant is innocent until proven guilty.
The North Manchester Police Department would like to thank the Citizens of North Manchester who called in and reported the suspicious person in their neighborhoods. They would also like to thank the Manchester University Security and the Wabash County Sheriff’s Department also for their assitance to quickly solve these thefts before they continued for a longer period of time.
All of the vehicles that the suspect got into were unlocked and had valuables inside. The North Manchester Police Department would like to remind you to lock your vehicles and don’t leave valuables inside.