Dec. 4—GOSHEN — A man accused of auto theft and resisting law enforcement had his initial hearing Wednesday in Elkhart County Circuit Court. He is accused of stealing a car from a church parking lot after a woman reported to police that her keys had been stolen and that the man might try to take her car.
Police arrived at 9:58 a.m. Nov. 24 at Crossroads Community Church, 57415 Alpha Drive, Goshen, where a woman claimed James Baker took her car keys and refused to give them back. Baker denied taking the keys and the officer said in the probable cause affidavit that he decided to file a report for the theft of the keys, with Baker being the suspect. The woman said she had to leave without a car because she had to go to work. Before leaving the scene, the woman said Baker was not authorized to drive her vehicle, the report said.
While the officer was still on scene, he said Baker kept coming out of the church to see if the patrol vehicle was still there. He would remain on site to complete the paperwork.
The officer later observed a blue Honda CRV leaving the church and heading to a home in the 57000 block of Horseshoe Drive. He followed it and said he saw Baker exit the vehicle in a driveway on the street and run to the home’s backyard. A foot chase ensued, with Crossroads security guards also assisting, the affidavit said. Baker was stopped and arrested for car theft.
During his initial hearing, Baker told Elkhart County Circuit Court Judge Michael Christofeno that he planned to hire a private attorney. Baker’s pretrial conference is scheduled for Jan. 8, the trial status conference for Jan. 29 and the jury trial for Feb. 24.
JACKIE ROZELL LEE PARKER
A man accused of stealing a vehicle from a car lot had his initial hearing Wednesday in Elkhart County Circuit Court.
Joseph Duniifin, owner of JD Auto Sales, 30927 Old US 33, Elkhart, said he gave a set of keys to a Ford Taurus to Jackie Rozell Lee Parker to turn on the car and check the air conditioning before he bought it.
Duniifin left to get supplies to clean the car for Parker and returned to find the Taurus gone, according to the probable cause statement. He said he tried to call Parker to discuss the missing vehicle, but never got a call back. There were no other customers in the parking lot at the time and another person dropped Parker off at the car lot and claimed that person would receive money to purchase the vehicle, but no payment was ever made, the affidavit said.
At his first hearing, Parker was appointed public defender and upcoming hearing dates. Parker has a pretrial conference scheduled for Jan. 8 and a trial status conference scheduled for Jan. 29. His case is scheduled for a jury trial on February 24.
Dani Messick is the education and entertainment reporter for The Goshen News. She can be reached at dani.messick@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2065.
