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BY KATHLEEN QUILLIGAN
Kathleen.Quilligan@nwitimes.com
219.662.5331 | Friday, June 27, 2008 | (2 comment(s))
CEDAR LAKE | Timothy Roy Sweitzer was looking for a large quantity of marijuana when he dressed as a police officer, forced his way into a Cedar Lake home and handcuffed the woman inside, according to Lake County Criminal Court records filed Thursday.
The 31-year-old Griffith man faces felony attempted robbery, criminal confinement and impersonating a public servant in the Tuesday incident, court records state. He also faces an enhanced felony charge of carrying a handgun without a license because he is a convicted felon, Cedar Lake Police Chief Roger Patz said.
Patz said Sweitzer targeted the home for retaliation but would not clarify for what he was retaliating because the case remains under investigation.
Sweitzer knocked on the door of a home Tuesday morning in the 6300 block of West 136th Avenue -- part of the Robin's Nest subdivision -- and showed the woman who answered the door a police badge, asking for her teenage grandson by name, court records state.
Patz said that when the woman resisted, Sweitzer pulled out a gun, handcuffed her and asked again if her grandson was home. The woman refused to answer, and Sweitzer tried to force her up the stairs, Patz said. Sweitzer went up the stairs by himself to search for a safe he thought contained marijuana, court records state. The woman ran out the door to get help.
A neighbor, who declined to be named, told The Times on Wednesday she saw the victim standing at the end of her driveway, pleading for help. She was wearing only a nightgown with her hands handcuffed behind her back, the neighbor said.
The two ran inside the neighbor's house and called police.
When police arrived at the home, the victim said Sweitzer was still inside. Police found the grandson in his room still sleeping, Patz said.
Sweitzer placed a safe he found inside the residence by the door but realized he was in trouble and fled, court records state. Patz said Thursday he was unable to confirm the safe's contents.
He was found in a nearby wooded area after a squad car on its way to the house was flagged down outside of TJT General Tire, 6730 W. 133rd Ave., court records state.
The officer was told a man just ran through the parking lot. A police dog found Sweitzer's gun, a can of pepper spray, a badge from the Conrail Police Department, a generic identification card and a black zipper case with duct tape inside, Patz said.
Patz said the Conrail badge was fake and that the department had not reported any badges missing. Sweitzer told police he stole the badge from his mother, court records state.
Sweitzer was being held at the Lake County Jail on Thursday on a $100,000 bond.
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Widow wrote on Jun 27, 2008 4:21 PM:
Just like McDermott except wrote on Jun 27, 2008 11:10 AM: