A Chesterton man, wanted by jurisdictions in three states, was arrested on a new auto theft charge by the Porter County Sheriff’s Office over the weekend.
Charles W. Curry, 46, was stopped Saturday morning at the Ripley Street exit ramp for Interstate 94. He was charged with Level 5 felony auto theft because of prior convictions, according to a report.
A Flock camera license plate reader Saturday morning recorded on U.S. 6 near the Lake County line that the vehicle Curry was in, a 2014 Dodge Caravan, had been reported stolen from a car lot in Calumet Park, Illinois.
Curry told the officers that he didn’t know the vehicle was reported to be stolen. He told the officers he had been given permission to drive the vehicle by a man named “Brian” at a car lot in Fort Heights, Illinois.
But further investigation found that Curry about three months ago had contacted Lukman Shokunbi, owner of Lglis Auto LLC, by Facebook about the Dodge Caravan that was for sale.
Video surveillance footage showed that the man, identified as Curry, had come dressed as a police officer with a vest and gun to the lot, the sheriff’s report states.
The man dressed as a police officer wanted to do a test drive. But before Shokunbi could get the information, the man grabbed the keys and drove the Dodge Caravan off the lot.
Porter Superior Court had an active warrant for Curry on an intimidation charge stemming from an Oct. 15, 2024, case.
Curry was also wanted for a probation violation in Lake County and on a theft charge from Cook County, Illinois. The Michigan Department of Corrections also has a pending parole violation case involving Curry, who had been convicted of auto theft in Berrien County, Michigan in 2022. Curry had been arrested a number of times for auto theft, the sheriff’s report states. He is being held in the Porter County Jail.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
