Porter County Prosecutor Brian Gensel – WKVI Information Center

Four Charges Filed Against William Blankenship III

January 19, 2012January 19, 2012WKVI

blankenship_william — 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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Blankenship Charged with Theft

January 13, 2012January 13, 2012WKVI

The Porter County Prosecutor has filed one count of Theft against Knox resident William Blankenship III. Prosecutor Brian Gensel said that more charges could be filed once all of the reports from the investigation come into his office.

Blankenship allegedly drove a Kouts police car away from the Family Express in Kouts Tuesday night. Kouts police Sgt. Dave Johnston placed a handcuffed Blankenship into the back seat of the police car and left the car to gather evidence in Blankenship’s vehicle. Blankenship then got into the driver’s seat of the police vehicle and drove away from the scene. The vehicle was found wrecked and submerged in a ditch in LaPorte County on Wednesday. Blankenship had been on the run since Tuesday and finally turned himself into police Thursday night.