Staff Report

Steven T. Holmes

WARSAW — A Milford man was recently arrested after allegedly stealing more than $1,000 worth of copper tubing from the Warsaw Menards.

Steven T. Holmes, 33, 86 E. South St., Milford, is charged with theft and theft with a prior conviction, both level 6 felonies; and theft, a class A misdemeanor.

On Aug. 30, a Warsaw Police officer went to Menards regarding a theft which occurred in July. The officer spoke with an employee, who said the store’s inventory was being checked when it was discovered copper tubing was missing.

According to court documents, while checking surveillance footage, Menards employees discovered a man had stolen copper tubing from the store on July 15. In the footage, the man is shown placing a box of copper tubing into his cart and leaving the store without attempting to properly purchase the tubing. The man was also holding a piece of paper in his hand, attempting to make it look like he had a receipt.

The value of the copper tubing was estimated to be $1,852.96.

The next day, the officer followed up on the theft report with a Menards employee. The employee said they received further information about the suspect from Menards’ corporate center. The information indicated similar thefts of copper tubing occurred at a South Bend Menards store on July 11 and 28, as well as a Mishawaka Menards location on July 2.

These thefts were all committed by the same individual, who also attempted to steal copper tubing on Aug. 2 from the South Bend Menards store, but was stopped by employees. Corporate center employees believed the suspect was Holmes.

Through further investigation, officers determined the suspect was Holmes, who was previously convicted of theft in Goshen in June 2021.

Holmes was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Nov. 10, with a $5,250 surety and cash bond.