Full Notification

On Monday, February 1, 2016, at approximately 6:45a, Bluffton Police Officers MJ Tipton and James Agler responded to the 300 block of E. Spring St. for suspicious activity as reported by a neighbor. Officers found a Tennessee-registered vehicle containing meth ingredients and firearms. They were soon assisted by Sgt. Geoff Gilbert and Officer Phil Kurut. Wells County Sheriff’s Office Detective Lieutenant Jim Paxton assisted in the subsequent follow-up investigation.

During the initial stages of the investigation, Daniel Zerbe Jr. was identified as having an active arrest warrant for him out of Allen County, IN. He was taken into custody without incident.

Tipton obtained a search warrant for the TN vehicle, and the Indiana State Police Meth Suppression Section (ISP MSS) were summoned to assist with the mitigation of the meth lab items inside the vehicle. A second search was then obtained to seize the vehicle and process the contents in order to determine who had access to the vehicle’s interior. Firearms were examined for fingerprint evidence by Bluffton Police Department Crime Scene Investigator, Sgt. Mike Miller, with assistance from Officer Amanda Ballard, and sent to the Indiana State Police Fort Wayne Regional Laboratory (ISP FWRL) for additional testing. The registered owner of the car was never located and believed to have fled the state based on information learned later in the investigation. Arrest warrants have been sought for the vehicle’s owner and associate.

While Zerbe Jr. was in the Wells County Jail, Officer Tipton concluded an unrelated previous investigation and requested Zerbe Jr. also be charged in that prior case with Welfare Fraud.

Trae Lane, also present at the Spring St. residence, consented to a search of his vehicle by officers. Based on items discovered during this search, Lane was later arrested by warrant for unlawful possession of a syringe.

On Tuesday, February 2, 2016, at approximately 11:15a, Bluffton Police Officers Greg Steele, Cliff Thomas and Kyle Randall responded to the 300 block of White Bridge Ct. in regards to a break-in reported by a neighbor. Officers secured the house and, in the process, officers saw signs indicating the house had been burglarized. Detective Chip Swindell was summoned to the scene. Det. Swindell quickly learned from the homeowner that over 2 dozen firearms were missing from the home. The homeowner was able to provide Det. Swindell with descriptions and serial numbers of the guns. Officers determined that some of those stolen firearms had already been recovered as they were inside the TN vehicle on Spring St. the previous morning. Several more items were noted as missing, including, but not limited to, a laptop, two televisions, two firearms safes and hunting gear. Wells County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigator, Deputy Jeremy Heckel, participated in processing the home for potential evidence.

Many hours of investigation were put in over the next few days by several officers of the Bluffton Police Department and the Wells County Sheriff’s Office. From speaking with suspects and witnesses and examining some of the physical evidence, Det. Swindell determined there may still be evidence at the Spring St. residence, and he later obtained a search warrant for the house. Det. Swindell and other officers, including Officers Josh Smith, Travis Ford, Jeff Belda and Justin Pitman, served that warrant on Friday evening, February 5, and discovered a portion of the lock mechanism from one of the stolen safes in the garage.

Information learned from the Spring St. search warrant investigation led officers to recover the two stolen gun safes from a ditch located just southeast of the city limits. Also, an investigative lead guided Det. Swindell to seek a search warrant for the Poneto residence of David and Jerri Watson, located on W. Washington St. Officers were now entering into Saturday, February 6, and had been working non-stop for over 24 hours since early Friday morning. Upon execution of the search warrant, led by Detective Andy Ellis, officers first noticed a laptop that matched the description of one stolen from White Bridge Ct. Officers located several other items taken in the burglary of the White Bridge Ct. home. Officers did not locate any firearms, but they did discover another meth lab in the Watsons’ home. Based on this new information, officers obtained a second search warrant for the home which allowed for the search of evidence pertaining to drug manufacturing. ISP MSS was again called to mitigate the scene. WCSO Deputy Heckel, who had also processed the White Bridge Ct. residence, was present to assist with this search warrant service. Deputy Heckel recalled a specific shoe tread pattern that appeared on the outside of the door that had been broken and entered on White Bridge Ct. Deputy Heckel noticed a shoe in Watson’s home that had a seemingly identical pattern. Another search warrant for the Watson truck provided no other evidence. David Watson was arrested at the scene that morning. This investigation was not completed until mid-morning Saturday. WCSO Deputies Michael Bailey and Curt Hunt provided assistance in the Poneto efforts.

Officers put in many more hours during the weekend investigating these related cases.

On Monday, February 8, 2016, officers determined they had enough information to believe that Daniel Zerbe Jr. and Justin Troop participated with Watson in the commission of the White Bridge Ct. burglary. More information from the investigation directed officers to believe that the burglary was orchestrated, in whole or in part, by a White Bridge Ct. neighbor, Anthony West.

On Tuesday, February 9, arrest warrants were issued and served on Jerri Watson for the meth making items found in the Watson home during the search warrant. Also arrested via warrant was Justin Troop. He was taken into custody at a Fort Wayne hospital where he was seeking medical treatment independent of this investigation. Bluffton Police Officers maintained watch at the hospital until his release and subsequent book-in at the Wells County Jail on Saturday, February 13.

On Wednesday, February 10, Officers began a rigorous search for the still missing firearms. They talked with several of those suspects involved and witnesses on the fringe of the investigation. Their search started at a Bluffton apartment and went into Allen County, finally ending up at a rural Adams County residence where 16 long guns were recovered.

On Thursday, February 11, one more firearm was recovered at a home in Poneto after relatives of the Watsons reported finding a hidden handgun in their garage. WCSO Deputy Russ Mounsey retrieved the firearm and learned that the Watson relatives had been alerted to the stolen handgun by text message from Justin Troop while Troop was hospitalized.

On Friday, February 12, late afternoon, officers discovered Anthony West in a vehicle in the Wildwood Ln. cul-de-sac. Officers conducted a high-risk traffic stop and took him into custody on an arrest warrant stemming from this case.

The Wells County Prosecutors Office provided guidance and assistance in the procurement of the search warrants throughout this investigation.

End results:
6 search warrants served
2 meth lab sites discovered
24 of 29 stolen firearms recovered
Many other stolen items recovered
Several items of drug contraband seized

Arrested:
Daniel Zerbe Jr., Trae Lane, David Watson, Jerri Watson, Justin Troop, Anthony West

Arrest warrants issued for two other individuals in connection with the initial investigation regarding the TN vehicle.

All charges filed against defendants in these matters are merely accusations and each defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.