The Knox man who reportedly stole a Kouts police car has surrendered to police.
William Blankenship III surrendered to two Indiana State Police troopers from the Lowell Post last night. Master Trooper Kevin Murphy assigned to the U.S. Marshall Task Force and Senior Trooper Jerry Michalak assigned to the FBI Task Force met Blankenship and his family at a residence in Knox where he surrendered. Cooperation from his family members made his surrender possible.
Blankenship was taken into custody and is incarcerated in the Porter County Jail.
Blankenship was stopped by a Kouts police officer on Tuesday, January 10th at the Family Express and had taken Blankenship into custody on drug related charges. He was handcuffed and placed in the back of the officer’s squad car. When the officer went to collect evidence from Blankenship’s vehicle, Blankenship got into the front seat of the car and drove from the scene. The vehicle was later found wrecked and submerged in a ditch off a LaPorte county road but Blankenship was not with the vehicle. Several weapons were in the vehicle when Blankenship took the vehicle and they were all recovered with the vehicle.
