The body of Thomas Haskins was a day away from being cremated – and his closest kin didn’t even know he was dead.Police from multiple law enforcement agencies arrested a LaGrange man Thursday after he allegedly threatened another man and damaged a vehicle in the town of Topeka.
LaGrange County sheriff's deputies responded to a business parking lot in Topeka after receiving an emergency call about 2:10 p.m. stating that 28-year-old Joas Eicher had directly threatened another man, saying he was armed with a handgun, according to a written statement from the Indiana State Police. The suspect had damaged a vehicle before fleeing the area on foot, ISP Detective Jeff Boyd said.
Eicher, who was not armed, was apprehended downtown about 3 p.m. He is being held at the LaGrange County Jail on felony counts of attempted aggravated battery and intimidation and a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief, the ISP statement said.
The Topeka business, which was not named in the statement, was locked down during the brief manhunt. Assisting state police in the search were officers from the Topeka, Ligonier, Shipshewana and Rome City police departments as well as the sheriff's departments of Noble and LaGrange counties.
Eicher is scheduled to appear in LaGrange County Superior Court today for a probable cause hearing.
