Staff Report 

WARSAW — A Warsaw man is facing 12 charges in two separate incidents that occurred about three weeks apart.

Ezekiel Fitzpatrick

Ezekiel Dewayne Fitzpatrick, 25, 316 S. Lake St., Warsaw, is charged with theft, a level 6 felony; battery, a class A misdemeanor; two counts of criminal mischief, a class A misdemeanor; and criminal recklessness, a class B misdemeanor, for an incident that occurred in May.

For the June incident, Fitzpatrick is charged with dealing in methamphetamine, a level 3 felony; possession of methamphetamine, a level 5 felony; theft, a level 6 felony; resisting law enforcement a level 6 felony; operating while intoxicated, a class C misdemeanor; dealing in methamphetamine with enhancing circumstances, a level 2 felony; and possession of methamphetamine with enhancing circumstances, a level 4 felony.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, on May 31, a Kosciusko County Sheriff’s deputy responded to a report of a verbal dispute. 

Upon arrival, the deputy found that a white Toyota Camry had crashed into a residence. The Camry had extensive front end damage, and the residence had structural damage from the crash.

A woman at the scene told the deputy that she rented the Camry and allowed Fitzpatrick to drive the vehicle to the store but said Fitzpatrick never returned with the vehicle. 

When she learned of the location of the Camry on May 31, she went to that location to recover the vehicle. She said she found Fitzpatrick and the Camry at that location and attempted to take the vehicle back.

The woman said there was a verbal argument between Fitzpatrick and herself. She eventually agreed to allow Fitzpatrick to get his personal property out of the vehicle. 

The altercation became physical, according to the woman, and she and Fitzpatrick both ended up in the driver’s seat of the Camry.

The woman said Fitzpatrick put the vehicle into ‘drive’ and pressed the gas pedal, running the vehicle into the residence. Fitzpatrick fled the area on foot prior to the arrival of law enforcement. 

The woman received multiple injuries during the physical altercation, including a cut on her chin, a scrape on her left knee and scratches on the left side of her back. 

On June 19, a Warsaw Police officer responded to a report of a vehicle stopped in the roadway on Anchorage Road at US 30. 

According to the affidavit of probable cause, the officer pulled his fully marked police vehicle with emergency lights activated in front of the silver Oldsmobile Alero. 

The officer saw a man slumped forward as if asleep. The officer made contact with the man, who provided an Indiana ID card identifying him as Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick’s speech led the officer to believe that he was under the influence of an intoxicating substance. 

Documents for the vehicle were provided to the officer by Fitzpatrick.Those documents identified the owner of the vehicle as another man. 

When a second officer arrived at the scene, pulling in behind the Oldsmobile and activating the patrol vehicle’s emergency lights, Fitzpatrick allegedly began to back the Oldsmobile up and started to pull away from the traffic stop. 

The officer who had initially responded to the scene attempted to get the attention of Fitzpatrick, but Fitzpatrick continued to drive forward, nearly running over the officer’s foot.

Officers followed the Oldsmobile west on Anchorage Road and then north on SR 15 with emergency lights activated in an attempt to stop Fitzpatrick, but he continued driving north on SR 15, disregarding the officers.

The Oldsmobile eventually went off the road, entered a ditch and overturned north of CR 400N.

Police spoke with the man identified as the owner of the vehicle. The man said he was not aware that Fitzpatrick had possession of his Oldsmobile. He said he did not sell his vehicle and had not allowed Fitzpatrick or anyone else to borrow the vehicle. 

The man said he had parked the vehicle near The Keg in Leesburg sometime after midnight on June 19 and that was the last time he had seen it. 

When the man gave consent for police to search the Oldsmobile a wallet belonging to Fitzpatrick was found inside the vehicle. 

Fitzpatrick was evaluated by medics at the scene and taken to Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne for treatment of his injuries. While providing treatment to Fitzpatrick, Lutheran EMS medics found a black nylon pouch containing six individually packaged clear plastic baggies with methamphetamine inside. The total weight of the baggies was 8.6 grams.

Fitzpatrick was booked at the Kosciusko County Jail July 9 on a $30,500 surety and cash bond.