Police pursuit ends in Fort Wayne; two in custody here

Two individuals are in custody today at the Adams County Law Enforcement and Detention with one detained by the Berne Police Department while the second fled the scene and went north through Decatur and into Fort Wayne where police officers there were able to apprehend him after he abandoned his car at the intersection of Tillman Road and Hanna Street.

Berne Police Department officers originally were called at 1 p.m. to the 200 block of Heritage Trail after a report of a possible fraudulent activity at a business there had occurred. Berne police one man but the second man reportedly went north where the Decatur Police Department located his vehicle near the intersection of US 27 and Winchester Street at the south edge of town.

Decatur officers attempted to stop the driver but he failed to yield to law enforcement officers and continued on thus resulting in a pursuit chase. That chase continued on through Decatur on 13th Street and then headed north on US 27 towards Fort Wayne. The Adams County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana State Police, Allen County Sheriff’s Department, and Fort Wayne Police Department participated in the attempt to stop the driver, identified as Lawrence Freeman, 28.

The vehicle pursuit ended near the intersection of Tillman Road and Hanna Street as Freeman abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot. After a brief foot chase, Freeman was apprehended by officers and taken into custody.

The other man arrested in Berne was identified as Paul Lane, 34. Residential addresses for Freeman and Lane were not listed on information provided.

The apprehension of the two men may have cleared up a chain of similar incidents as an investigation by police show the two men have allegedly been committing similar criminal action at many businesses throughout northeast Indiana.