Shot Fired In Apartment Leads To Arrests On Multiple Charges
Shot Fired In Apartment Leads To Arrests On Multiple Charges
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Shot Fired In Apartment Leads To Arrests On Multiple ChargesA gunshot fired in an apartment building led to the arrest of two people on drug and other charges.
Joseph Michael Miller, 26, of 221 N. Columbia St., Apt. F, Warsaw, was arrested and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 9:01 p.m. Friday for criminal recklessness, possession of marijuana/hash oil/hashish, possession of methamphetamine and possession of paraphernalia.
Court documents filed Monday list the charges against him as dealing in methamphetamine, a level 3 felony; possession of methamphetamine with enhancing circumstances, a level 5 felony; criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, a level 6 felony; neglect of a dependent, a level 6 felony; possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor; and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.
His bond was set at $20,000 surety and $250 cash.
Rachel Nicole Banaszek, 31, of the same address, was arrested and booked into the KCJ at 10:12 p.m. Friday for possession of methamphetamine and possession of a controlled substance.
Court documents filed Monday list the charges against her as possession of methamphetamine with enhancing circumstances, a level 5 felony; neglect of a dependent, a level 6 felony; possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor; and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.
Her bond was set at $10,000 surety and $250 cash.
On Friday, Warsaw police were called to 221 N. Columbia St. about shots fired through a woman’s ceiling into a bedroom. The shot was reported to have come from a second-floor apartment – apartment F – directly above the bedroom.
WPD Det. Sgt. Brad Kellar heard the call and had prior knowledge of alleged drug dealing and alleged gun possession by Miller, who resides in Apt. F. That information was relayed through dispatch for responding officers, according to court documents.
Upon arrival, officers first contacted the woman who had heard the gunshot. She said that within the last few minutes, she heard a gunshot from her living room and walked into her bedroom. She saw dust in the air and a hole in the ceiling that was not there prior to the gunshot sound. She heard a lot of noise coming down from the stairs and suspected that whoever it was had ran out the front door. Officers saw what appeared to be a bullet hole above the woman’s bed.
Present in the woman’s apartment with her were her daughter, her son and another person whose information was redacted in court documents. No one was in the bedroom at the time of the gunshot.
Officers went to the suspect apartment to investigate and talked with Banaszek, who was in Apt. 5 with her son. She said that her boyfriend – Miller – left and she was not aware of where he went. She said she knew nothing about a gunshot in her apartment and that she was taking a shower when she heard Miller leave.
Banaszek granted officers permission to check the bedroom for anyone who might be injured or the gun that was fired. Two WPD officers saw drug paraphernalia in plain view in the bedroom. The apartment also had an odor of burnt marijuana. Two boxes of handgun ammunition were found on an end table.
While officers were present, Banaszek called Miller on his cell phone. He could be heard crying and yelling. Banaszek told him that he needed to return to the apartment to give officers permission to search it. He hung up with her several times. During one of those calls, the phone was placed on speaker and WPD officer Myles Reichard explained consent to search. Miller was concerned about going to jail but said officers could search the apartment. It was explained to him that he needed to come back to the apartment and sign the consent form.
WPD Cpl. Phillip Hawks was standing in the hall and saw a man looking out from Apt. C, which is across the hall from the victim’s apartment and at the base of the stairway. When questioned by Hawks as to what he was doing, the man said he was the guy they were looking for. He walked upstairs and was told to sit in the hallway area outside of the apartment. Reichard read Miller his rights and Miller said he understood.
Miller said he reached for the gun under the couch in his bedroom. He dropped the gun and it went off. He “freaked out” and decided to run. Miller called out to Banaszek, but then chose to leave without telling her what happened. Miller said Banaszek was in the kitchen at the time this occurred, washing dishes. He said he put the gun in his waistband when he fled and it fell out somewhere. He also said others may have been around when he dropped the gun.
Miller described the gun as a chrome finish revolver with a wood handle and that it was possibly a .357. He said he did not know anything about guns or how to handle them. He also told officers he did not know if the gun was still loaded. Miller said a friend asked him to hold on to the firearm, but he would not identify the friend.
While waiting for a search warrant, Miller was questioned again about the location of the gun. He said it may be in a closet in his kitchen. The area was checked for anything in plain view.
Banaszek, who had been caring for her son during the wait, was instructed to stay out of the kitchen in case the gun was in there. Detectives were searching another apartment when a patrol officer allowed Banaszek to go into the kitchen to get paper towels to clean up her son. Banaszek returned to the living room with a gun and turned it over to Reichard.
Reichard took the weapon – a Smith & Wesson model 19-5 .357 Magnum. It was found to have one spent cartridge and one live round still in the chamber.
After a search warrant was granted for the apartment, a pewter tray was found on the floor underneath a dresser; marijuana and methamphetamine were found on the tray; Marijuana, meth, cash and other paraphernalia were also found.
