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Riding Shotgun with LaPorte County Sheriff's deputy Micah Dokmanovic Paper Bag Making Machine
PORTAGE — Portage police say six men made off with $2 million over a two-year period by stealing more than 20 million pounds of scrap metal bound for U.S. Steel and redirecting it to a local recycling plant.
The men, identified as Wardell Brown, 49, of Calumet City; Jacob Reynolds, 34, of Cedar Lake; Joshua Riddle, 36, of Hammond; Marland Barner, 51, of Sauk Village; John Smith Jr., 44, of Crown Point; and Rafael Berrios Jr., 39, of Portage, all face a felony count of theft greater than $50,000, police said.
(From top left) Rafael Berrios Jr., Wardell Brown, Marland Barner, Joshua Riddle, John Smith Jr. and Jacob Reynolds.
Smith and Riddle faces additional felony counts of check fraud, police said.
Police said they received a report in August 2022 of the theft of a load of scrap metal from U.S. Steel, referred to as as slitter. It was discovered that numerous other loads of the scrap metal had also been stolen from the same Portage location.
Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact detective Olivia Vasquez at 219-881-1210.
"The slitter should have been transported to the U.S. Steel Gary Works plant from the Portage location for recycling, but evidence showed that several sub-contracted employees of U.S. Steel were diverting loads of slitter to a local recycling company, selling the scrap, and keeping the proceeds," police said.
The owner of the scrapyard reportedly cooperated with police and provided business records linking the men to the thefts. The men were further linked to the thefts by their own financial records.
When the driver refused to release the dog, police said they used a stun gun and the driver released his grip on the dog's throat.
The thefts occurred between August 2020 and August 2022, police said.
Police say the investigation is ongoing and that additional charges and arrests are possible.
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Riding Shotgun with LaPorte County Sheriff's deputy Micah Dokmanovic
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(From top left) Rafael Berrios Jr., Wardell Brown, Marland Barner, Joshua Riddle, John Smith Jr. and Jacob Reynolds.
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