Weinhoft (photo provided) |
MISHAWAKA – The St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office has charged a 26-year-old man who is accused of breaking into two different Mishawaka locations Sunday night after escaping from the hospital. Police say they found him wearing only underwear and spraying a fire extinguisher in Covenant Christian School.
Read the charging documents here.
Austin Weinhoft was being treated at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center for nerve damage to his arm from heroin use, according to prosecutors. He escaped after claiming the staff were trying to harm him.
Police found footprints of a barefoot individual in the snow leading to and away from a home that was broken into in the 4000 block of Savanna Pass in Mishawaka.
Then officers arrived at Covenant Christian School after a fire alarm was activated. Police say they found extensive damage at the school and Weinhoft running around in only his underwear spraying a fire extinguisher. He was caught with the help of a K-9 unit. He was transported to the hospital to be treated for hypothermia.
Weinhoft has been charged with Residential Entry and Criminal Mischief, both Class D felonies, plus felony Resisting Law Enforcement and a misdemeanor charge of resisting law enforcement. He is being held in St. Joseph County Jail on $500,000 corporate surety bond or $50,000 cash bond.
