Staff Report

Aaron Colbretti Paholak

WARSAW — A Warsaw man was recently arrested after allegedly stealing a man’s cellphone and money.

Aaron Colbretti Paholak, 34, 1308 N. Park Ave., Warsaw, is charged with theft, a level 6 felony; and theft, a class A misdemeanor.

On Dec. 18, 2021, a Warsaw Police officer spoke with a man about a theft that occurred at Comfort Inn. The man said he was arrested on Dec. 16, 2021, for public intoxication; he left his cellphone, valued at $2,000, at the hotel when he was arrested.

According to court documents, the man said he was spending time with someone at the hotel who claimed to be an employee there. He told the officer he believed they may have taken his belongings. The man also said two unauthorized withdrawals of money were made using his Facebook Pay account.

On Dec. 21, 2021, a Warsaw Police investigator contacted one of the hotel’s managers about the phone theft. The manager told the investigator that a new hire, identified as Paholak, was in possession of a phone that matched the description provided. She said Paholak was working on Dec. 16, 2021, and that he had asked the manager’s fiancé if he knew how to unlock the phone.

Later that day, the investigator spoke with Paholak at his residence about the phone. Paholak said the phone was at the hotel; however, a man at the home said that was incorrect and that the phone was in one of Paholak’s relative’s vehicles. The man said he told Paholak to return the phone to the hotel.

When asked how he came into possession of the phone, Paholak allegedly said he obtained it after a man had left it at the hotel. The man was trespassed from the hotel, and Paholak claimed the hotel’s manager told him he could keep the phone.

Later that day, Paholak returned the phone; the investigator confirmed the phone belonged to the man who reported it as stolen. The investigator noticed the phone’s SIM card had been removed. Paholak claimed he never turned the phone on and also denied using the phone to make payments on Facebook Pay.

On Dec. 22, 2021, the investigator met with the man whose phone was stolen. The man provided paperwork from his bank showing two unauthorized charges were made from his account on Dec. 17, 2021. The first totaled $200 and the second was for $150. These withdrawals occurred while Paholak was in possession of the man’s phone.

Later that day, the investigator met with the hotel’s manager, who denied giving Paholak permission to take the man’s phone. She also said Paholak had the phone on while he was in possession of it, and said he was attempting to have service for the phone transferred to him so he could operate it. The manager said an employee also informed her that Paholak had attempted to sell the phone. Surveillance footage from the hotel showed Paholak operating the phone and removing its SIM card.

On Dec. 27, 2021, the investigator conducted a final interview with Paholak; he admitted to removing the SIM card from the phone but denied making an unauthorized withdrawal of money using Facebook Pay.

Paholak was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Feb. 19, with a $5,250 surety and cash bond.