Truck crashes into, out of garage in Portage
A Portage man was arrested Tuesday night on four misdemeanor counts related to drunken driving after he allegedly crashed into a garage.
Portage police responded about 9:15 p.m. to the 5300 block of Boulder Avenue, where they found a pickup truck had been driven through the side of a garage and out the rear of the garage.
Michael Tressler Jr., 51, of the 3200 block of Brown Street, had already gotten out of the truck with the help of neighbors.
Tressler, who police found lying in the yard with no shoes on, told police his brakes failed and caused him to crash into the residence. While he was being treated by medics from the Portage Fire Department, Tressler allegedly said his friend was the driver and ran from the truck, but later told police he was the driver and sole occupant, according to a police report.
Police said he struck a car on the street before going through the garage. They found two open beer cans in his pickup truck, according to the report.
Tressler was transported to Porter Regional Hospital after complaining of back pain. Police said his blood-alcohol content was 0.20 percent — the legal limit is 0.08 percent — and a toxicology screen tested positive for Benzodiazepine, the report said.
After Tressler was medically cleared from the hospital, police transported him to Porter County Jail.
Theft of cigarettes reported in Chesterton
Chesterton police are investigating the theft of 24 cartons of cigarettes from Walgreens.
A manager of the store, at 580 Indian Boundary Road, contacted police on Friday about the Oct. 21 theft, and said a security video showed the theft, which employees noticed when they tried to restock shelves behind the front register.
The video shows a black male, about 6 feet tall, heavy set, and wearing a white T-shirt and dark blue pants with a white stripe down the side, enter the store about 1:15 p.m. He walks out of the view of the camera and later exits the store with a shopping cart that appears to be full and covered with a blanket and a newspaper.
The manager placed the value of the cigarettes at about $1,266. The case has been forwarded to the police department’s detective bureau.
Tequila reported stolen from grocery store
Chesterton police are investigating the theft of four bottles of tequila from a local grocery store.
A store director at Jewel/Osco, 747 Indian Boundary Road, contacted police shortly after 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
She said the suspect is a white male, between 5 feet 7 inches and 6 feet tall, with a thin build, between 25 and 30 years old, and wearing black warmup pants, a black hoodie and a Pittsburgh Steelers skull cap.
He was carrying a red shopping basket and was seen placing four 750 ML bottles of Jose Cuervo 1800 Gold into the basket, then leaving the store.
A customer told the store director the suspect got into a silver Oldsmobile and provided a license plate number.
The liquor was valued at about $115.
— Amy Lavalley
