Staff Report

Matthew Jason Middaugh

WARSAW — A former Lakeside Chevrolet employee was recently arrested after stealing a vehicle at the business and taking it to Ohio.

Matthew Jason Middaugh, 36, 15611 Olive Trail, Plymouth, is charged with theft, a level 6 felony.

Around 1 p.m. Nov. 14, 2020, a Warsaw Police officer spoke with a man about his black 2018 Dodge Ram truck being missing from Lakeside Chevrolet. The man said he left his vehicle at the business for an oil change.

According to court documents, around 11:30 a.m. that day, the man said he was notified by a Lakeside Chevrolet representative about his vehicle being ready for pickup. However, when the man went to the lot, he couldn’t find his truck.

Employees checked surveillance footage and found that Middaugh, who was employed there as a lube technician, drove the man’s truck into a garage at 10 a.m. He drove it back out at 11:20 a.m. and was last seen driving the truck south on SR 15 in Warsaw.

On Nov. 15, 2020, the officer spoke with the man and asked if he heard anything about his truck. The man said he was contacted later in the day on Nov. 14, 2020, by the Ohio State Police. An Ohio State Trooper asked the man for several identifiers and confirmed he was pulling the truck over.

The Warsaw officer spoke with Ohio State Police, who confirmed Middaugh was the lone occupant of the man’s truck. Middaugh was arrested for possession of stolen property in Warren County, Ohio.

Middaugh was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail for this case on March 16, with a $5,250 surety and cash bond.