Staff Report

Darren Jay Heinzman

WARSAW — A Warsaw man was recently arrested for allegedly stalking a woman he previously stalked over 10 years ago.

Darren Jay Heinzman, 42, 321 S. High St., Warsaw, is charged with stalking, two counts of perjury, and forgery, all level 6 felonies; and stalking with a prior conviction – same victim enhancement, a level 4 felony.

On Feb. 18, 2011, formal charges for stalking and a habitual offender enhancement were filed against Heinzman. In that case, Heinzman stalked a woman and violated a protective order between Heinzman and the woman.

Heinzman was convicted of stalking in Kosciusko County in June 2012. He was sentenced to two years in the Indiana Department of Correction and was released in March 2014.

According to court documents, after his stalking conviction, Heinzman engaged in multiple subsequent incidents of criminal behavior which resulted in formal charges and periods of incarceration. He was convicted of conversion in March 2015; aiding, inducing, or causing an offense in June 2015; narcotic drug possession and theft in August 2017; and meth possession, narcotic drug possession, and neglect of a dependent in February 2019.

For the 2017 narcotic drug possession conviction, Heinzman was ordered to serve probation but violated that after being charged with drug possession in February 2019.

In February 2024, the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office became aware that Heinzman might have been stalking the woman again. During a Feb. 9 interview with a KCSO detective, the woman said in 2020, she exchanged communication with Heinzman through an app while Heinzman was in prison. The woman ended that communication, but did allow Heinzman to communicate with her between October 2022 and December 2022. She said she believed Heinzman had changed while in prison, but in December 2022, she told Heinzman she wanted no further contact with him.

After telling him this, Heinzman allegedly began sending the woman letters and calling her. Between January 2023 and June 2023, the woman received 540 missed calls from Heinzman and numerous letters. The woman provided the detective with about 15 of those letters. She also said Heinzman sent several messages to one of her friends and sent a relative a letter in an attempt to communicate with her.

On Oct. 5, 2023, the woman received a call from Westville Correctional Facility about Heinzman’s release. Heinzman then attempted contacting the woman multiple times that day, and the woman told Heinzman she was going to seek a protective order. Several of the text messages Heinzman sent the woman included photographs of what she believed was Heinzman’s genitalia.

The woman attempted to file for a protective order two times in October 2023, but was denied due to a lack of a service address for Heinzman.

On Dec. 4, 2023, Heinzman filed a civil case against the woman, alleging she stole $600 from him. The case was stalled because Heinzman failed to pay the filing fee.

On Jan. 18, 2024, Heinzman filed a petition for a protective order, listing the woman as the respondent. He signed the petition under the penalties for perjury. In the petition, Heinzman alleged he was a victim of stalking and repeated acts of harassment. The petition was denied on Jan. 22, 2024, with the court finding Heinzman did not show evidence of a crime occurring to justify the issuance of an order.

Heinzman filed a second petition for a protective order on Feb. 2, 2024, again signing the petition under the penalties for perjury. He again alleged he was a victim of stalking and repeated acts of harassment.

On Feb. 16, 2024, a KCSO detective spoke with a parole agent who changed Heinzman’s parole stipulations to include him not having contact with the woman. These stipulations were signed by Heinzman on Jan. 5, 2024.

Law enforcement believe Heinzman filed false documents with the Kosciusko County Courts to indirectly communicate with, intimidate and harass the woman by luring her to his location using the civil process of the court system.

Heinzman was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Feb. 28, 2024, with a $25,250 surety and cash bond.

Heinzman’s bond conditions include not possessing any firearms, not contacting the victim and not using social media. He will also be subject to pretrial home detention and GPS electronic monitoring.