Gun stolen from scene of traffic crash recovered, arrest made

ELKHART, Ind. -- Yesterday, during an encounter on Waterfall Drive, Elkhart Police Department officers detained a woman and came in possession of a handgun stolen that was taken from a crash scene.

On Feb. 26, 2024, at 10:30 p.m., an Elkhart Police Department located a subject in the 200 block of Prairie Street.

The officer came into contact with the female suspect near 430 Waterfall Dr. Upon investigation, the subject continued to walk away from the officer and did not follow his instruction.

The subject resisted handcuffs and threatened officers. During the encounter, several items fell upon the ground, which included a syringe, handgun, and iPhone. She was then arrested and taken to the Elkhart County Jail, where she resisted being escorted from the police car and struck an officer.

During the investigation, officers discovered that a man reported the handgun and iPhone went missing earlier that day. In the report, he said that he had been driving when he was involved in a traffic crash the previous night, in which his vehicle crashed into a building and needed to be treated. He reported that an unknown suspect stole his firearm and an iPhone from his vehicle during the incident.

She was identified as Charity Slusser, a 38-years-old woman of Elkhart. She was arrested and booked into the Elkhart County Jail on preliminary charges of Theft of a Firearm; Intimidation; Battery on a Public Safety Officer; Possession of a Syringe; Resisting Law Enforcement; and Railroad Trespass. An Elkhart County Superior Court Magistrate set bond at $25,000, and this case has been sent to the Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office in order to be formally reviewed.

Under Indiana law an individual is presumed innocent until proven guilty.