Staff Report

Jordan William Graham

Tyler Lee Herbst

NORTH WEBSTER — Two men were arrested for allegedly burglarizing a barn near North Webster.

Jordan William Graham, 25, 22 EMS W23C Lane, North Webster, is charged with burglary, a level 5 felony; theft, a class A misdemeanor; and theft with a prior conviction enhancement, a level 6 felony.

Tyler Lee Herbst, 27, 5389 N. 1000E, Pierceton, is charged with burglary, a level 5 felony; and theft, a class A misdemeanor.

On Sept. 8, a man reported his barn near North Webster was being broken into by two men who were still actively at the scene. The two men were later identified as Graham and Herbst.

According to court documents, the man confronted Herbst and Graham, chased them, and fired two warning shots into the ground from his personal firearm. A Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to the scene, taking Graham and Herbst into custody.

Graham said he heard from an individual that the barn had interesting items inside. He and Herbst entered the barn through an unlocked service door. Graham said he would have taken some tail lights for a boat trailer had he not been interrupted by the property owner.

Herbst said he knew there was boat merchandise in the barn as he had been in the location before.

The property owner said the doors on the barn were locked, and the back door had marks along the frame where someone used an object to force the door open.

Trail camera recordings from the barn showed Herbst and Graham picking up items and going through the property owner’s belongings. At the scene, the deputy found a backpack containing four fishing boat rod holders that the property owner said belonged to him. Herbst said the backpack belonged to Graham.

Graham was previously convicted of theft in Kosciusko County in August.

Graham and Herbst have both already been arrested. They have initial hearings at 11 a.m. Oct. 12, in Kosciusko Superior Court One.