GOSHEN — On Monday, the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department started a new effort to clear out some of the county’s outstanding warrants with the arrests of nine people, along with three additional drug-related arrests.

The county currently has 12,218 outstanding warrants on file, issued for reasons ranging from civil matters and contempt to criminal cases. About 2,600 of the outstanding warrants are criminal in nature, with fewer than 100 stemming from A and B felonies, according to the sheriff’s department.

Nine people were arrested on their warrants Monday as part of the multi-agency effort headed up by the sheriff’s department. Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Troxel assisted with the coordination of the roundup with the Goshen, Nappanee, Middlebury, Bristol and Wakarusa police departments.

County officers made three additional drug-related arrests, as well, according to a press release from the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department.

Arrested on warrants and their charges were:

• Austin Howell, 27, of Elkhart, arson and escape;

• Danny Peet, 55, of Elkhart, violation of probation for burglary and resisting;

• Alisha Coomer, 29, of Granger, inmate fraud and contempt;

• Daniel Harringer, 33, of Elkhart, domestic battery in the presence of a child and invasion of privacy;

• Leslie Watkins, 51, of Goshen, disorderly conduct, domestic battery, escape, operating while intoxicated;

• Brandon Stevens, 23, of Goshen, operating while intoxicated;

• Charles Bowen, 56, of Granger, two counts of theft;

• James Johnson, 36, of Elkhart, contempt; and

• Damien Huycke, 37, of Elkhart, possession/dealing/manufacturing methamphetamine.

While officers were serving warrants, they came across a vehicle in an alley behind a residence in the 1700 block of Decamp Avenue in Elkhart and arrested the occupants, three Elkhart men, on preliminary charges of possession of marijuana and cocaine around 11 a.m., according to police reports.

Arrested on the preliminary drug-related charges were:

• Kentorie Chavis, 23;

• Willie Johnson Jr., 24; and

• Norman Gary, 25.

According to the release, many people that have warrants either don’t realize warrants for their arrest have been issued or they are avoiding law enforcement and may be committing more crimes.

The majority of warrants come from civil matters as opposed to criminal, said Elkhart County Undersheriff Sean Holmes, and simple traffic enforcement yields “quite a few” warrant arrests.

For those people who suspect there could be a warrant out for them, turning themselves in or taking steps to address the warrant before it’s served does not necessarily have to result in jail time, depending on the nature of the warrant, he said. Some of those proactive actions may include paying the bill in question or seeking representation to take the matter up in court, he said.

“This is a small part of our overall plan to reduce crime in Elkhart County,” Holmes said. “We’re not done. This was just the kickoff.”

Over the next few months, the Goshen and Middlebury police departments will continue to work with the sheriff’s department serving warrants, with priority on the warrants stemming from the most serious cases, A and B felonies, Holmes said. He expects other local agenices will also work with them on and off.

The department’s goal, Holmes said, is to “serve all the felony warrants,” but acknowledged that the goal may be optimistic, considering many criminals who have fled the area. Nevertheless, it remains to be the goal, he said.

Other initiatives by the sheriff’s department to reduce crime included reorganizing its detective bureau to take a group-approach to investigating crimes, Holmes said. A new unit to investigate “people crimes,” such as sexual assault, battery, rape, has been established, and detectives investigating property crime will also look at crimes and crime trends in teams.

“These changes are in their infancy. But this actually allows them more time - not less - to pay more attention to more minor crimes, too,” Holmes said. Efforts to increase community awareness, improve the systems in the jail to reduce repeat offenders and changes in the patrol division are also underway, he said.

“There’s a lot of energy around here investigating crimes,” Holmes said.





Breakdown of outstanding warrants in Elkhart County

Source: Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department

Total: 12,218

A felonies: 47

B felonies: 47

C felonies: 438

D felonies: 2,075

Misdemeanors: about 2,500

Body attachments: 7,000+

• Six warrants stem from homicide cases

• A and B felony cases include drug dealing, drug manufacturing, child molest and other sex assault cases

• Most outstanding warrants come from civil cases and contempt

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