Four Charges Filed Against William Blankenship III

William Blankenship

William Blankenship III, 22, of Knox, was in Porter County Superior Court 1 in Valparaiso yesterday for his initial hearing.

Porter County Prosecutor Brian Gensel has formally charged Blankenship with Escape as a Class C Felony, plus Auto Theft, Fleeing Law Enforcement, and Criminal Mischief as Class D Felonies. Blankenship pleaded not guilty to all charges and bond was set at $25,000 cash or surety.

Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford’s court has scheduled an omnibus hearing for Blankenship on May 7th, a pre-trial hearing on June 4th and his jury trial is set for July 9th at 1:00 p.m. in Porter County Superior Court 1.

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Kouts Police Car Found, Knox Man Remains at Large

William Blankenship III

William Blankenship III, 22, of Knox, remains at large, after he allegedly stole a police car Tuesday night, wrecked it and put it into a ditch.

Blankenship was under arrest by Kouts police on drug related charges following a traffic stop at the Family Express station at the intersection of State Road 8 and State Road 49 in Kouts. The arresting officer placed Blankenship in the back seat of the patrol car while the officer took inventory of Blankenship’s car. It was then when Blankenship allegedly got into the driver’s seat and drove from the scene.

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