February 16, 2012
02/17/12 Shortly before 9:00 a.m. Thursday troopers with the Indiana State Police Emergency Response Section (ERS) and a K-9 officer from the Bremen Post assisted the Starke County Sheriff’s Department in locating a wanted subject that fled on foot.
While on patrol, a deputy with the Starke County Sheriff’s Department recognized Jeff Knoebel, 40, of Grovertown, as a man that was wanted on arrest warrants for possession of methamphetamine and maintaining a common nuisance. Knoebel was driving on US 30 at the time before turning into the Grovertown truck stop. Knoebel then quickly made his way through the store and out the back door in an attempt to elude police.
State police K-9 Trooper Ryan McNamara and members of the ERS unit were in the area finishing a search warrant in Plymouth when they received the call for assistance. McNamara and his K-9 partner Zane arrived on scene and began tracking Knoebel from the back of the truck stop. Zane tracked Knoebel for nearly ½ mile and 40 minutes later caught up with him trying to hide in a tree line, commented McNamara.
Knoebel was arrested on the two warrants and for resisting law enforcement by the Starke County Sheriff’s Department. The two warrants originally stemmed from an investigation lead by members of the Indiana State Police Meth Suppression Unit from the Bremen Post.