Brent Joseph Rains,
30, of 2752 Stephanie Court in Portage, and Roy Alexander Castro, 25, of
480W 700N in Portage Township, were both charged with one count of robbery
and one of burglary.
Nikita Ray Santos,
24, of Lake Station, was charged with burglary.
According to
police, at 9:23 p.m. Tuesday Master Patrol Officer Brian Graves was
eastbound on Central Ave. near Eagle Street when he observed, passing him
westbound, a maroon over gold Pontiac Montana van similar to one believed to
be involved in several armed robberies “over the past few days.”
Graves turned
around and followed the van, stopping it near County Line Road. He then made
contact with its occupants: the driver, Santos, and passengers Rains and
Castros. Castros proved to be wanted on a Porter County warrant charging him
with theft and was taken into custody, police said. Graves next asked Santos
and Rains to exit the van, at which time he observed “a large knife on the
back passenger’s side floorboard,” police said.
Knowing that a
knife had been displayed in the course of the previous robberies, Graves
secured the van and arranged for its transport to the Portage PD garage,
then detained Santos and Rains, along with Castro, for questioning.
Det. Sgt. Joe Mokol
subsequently interviewed the three and secured Rains and Castros’ confession
to robbery and all threes’ to a burglary on Springfield Ave. which had been
reported by the homeowners less than an hour after Graves performed the
traffic stop, police said.
“The proactive
effort by Officer Graves and the Patrol Crew was exceptional,” Police Chief
Troy Williams said. “These officers took the information that was known and
began scouring the city for a possible suspect vehicle and found it. The
officers worked together to keep themselves and the suspects safe as they
removed them from the vehicle, transported them to the police department,
and impounded the suspect vehicle. Det. Sgt. Mokol did an outstanding job in
obtaining confessions and ultimately bringing a resolution to a series of
armed robberies as well as a burglary in Portage that occurred shortly
before the suspects were stopped by Officer Graves. I could not be prouder
of the combined actions and efforts of our department.”
Santos was also
charged with identity deception, false informing, and possession of
paraphernalia; Rains, with possession of a hypodermic.
All three were
transported to Porter County Jail.
Other charges may
be pending, police added.