Jennings County police are looking for a man believed to be involved in several recent burglaries.
Ryan Beeman, 39, of North Vernon is a white male who stands 5 feet, 11 inches tall, weighs around 215 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. He also has tattoos covering his arms, neck and a large portion of his body.
Police said for people to consider Beeman to be dangerous and to not approach him if they see him. Anyone with information about Beeman’s location should call 812-346-4911.
The investigation began when Sgt. Thomas Mellencamp, Officer John Amis and Reserve Officer Steve Marsh with the Jennings County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a call of a burglary in progress in the 1100 block of North County Road 75E on Thursday evening.
Upon arrival, they located Mary Wood, 36, of Austin and took her into custody on the preliminary charge of possession of stolen property.
During the investigation, officers discovered a Honda Talon UTV that had been reported stolen earlier that day, a stolen truck from Austin, a stolen trailer and a zero turn lawn mower that had been reported stolen out of Jefferson County, police said.
Further investigation led officers to a property in the 3200 block of South County Road 600E. There, a stolen camper, a stolen 26-foot enclosed trailer, four stolen utility trailers, a stolen side-by-side and several thousand dollars’ worth of stolen tools were located, police reported.
While searching the property, a vehicle matching the description of a suspect vehicle drove through the area. Mellencamp attempted to initiate a traffic stop, and the vehicle fled at a high rate of speed, initiating a pursuit, police said.
The vehicle stopped after a short time as other officers arrived in the area. The driver, Jeremy Toppe, 32, and a female passenger, Kristin Prewitt, 26, both of Seymour, were taken into custody.
Police learned those two were involved in some of the burglaries, and they are being held in the Jennings County Jail in North Vernon on a $60,000 bond on preliminary charges of burglary.
Currently, four burglaries in Jennings County have been solved as well as the out-of-county burglaries and thefts. The estimated amount of recovered items exceeds $100,000, police said.
Officers are still actively investigating this case.
Sheriff Kenny Freeman said he is happy to get the property back to the owners and that the sheriff’s office will be relentless in bringing all individuals involved to justice.