A suspect in the burglary of a LaPorte County fire station allegedly dressed as a firefighter during another break-in outside New Carlisle this week but also stole a firetruck from another department and a backhoe from a U.S. Army Reserve Center several years ago.
Franklin Powell, 25, also pretended to have his own fire department that he listed on Facebook with references to himself as ''Chief Powell.''
Those are the among the details in the case against the former Walkerton man charged Wednesday in LaPorte Circuit Court with the late June burglary at the Coolspring Township fire station near Michigan City.
He's already charged in St. Joseph County with the early Monday burglary at a metal recycling company on Smilax Road in New Carlisle.
''I don't know if I've seen anybody that has gone to those lengths to represent themselves as a public official,'' said LaPorte County Police Capt. Mike Kellems.
According to court documents, Powell was seen on surveillance wearing a firefighter outfit, including the boots, after the alarm went off at a metal recycling firm on Smilax Road.
Lt. Matt Blank, a spokesman for the St. Joseph County Police Department, said Franklin was just leaving as responding officers showed up.
His dress led investigators to his home at Green Acres Trailer Park in Michigan City, where all of the gear taken in the fire department burglary, including a breathing apparatus and defibrillator, were recovered from a shed, police said.
According to court documents, Powell was on home detention for stealing a backhoe from the U.S. Army Reserve facility at Kingsbury in 2012.
He drove the backhoe to Knox, claiming he needed the machine to perform some demolition work.
During a 2007 burglary, Powell drove off with a Center Township (LaPorte County) firetruck later found stuck in the mud next to Pine Lake Cemetery in LaPorte.
Powell told investigators that he went to Tennessee recently and brought back some firefighting equipment that was going to be paid for by his ''Green Chatham Fire Rescue'' once the items were ''up and running,'' court documents revealed.
Facebook has since posted a scam alert on the page Powell created for his pretend fire department.
He's never been a firefighter, police said.
Kellems said a second individual is being looked at as a possible suspect and the motive for the thefts was not clear
