Duane Longacre Appears in Court on Seven Felony Charges

27-year-old Duane Longacre appeared in a St. Joseph County Courtroom yesterday and according to the information given in court, the incident for which he was arrested on Tuesday was the end of a week-long crime spree.

According to published reports, Longacre allegedly stole a car on January 26th from outside a Speedway gas station on Mishawaka Avenue. The car was running at the time of the incident and the owner watched him drive the car away from the scene. A weapon was located inside the vehicle. The next day, Marshall County police found the car, engulfed in flames, parked outside a home in Bremen. A car that was registered to the homeowner was reported stolen.

On January 31st, South Bend police officers saw the stolen car and attempted a traffic stop. The driver, Duane Longacre, did not stop and police initiated a chase. During the pursuit, it was reported that a brown bag allegedly containing items used in the manufacture of methamphetamine was thrown out the passenger side window and then Longacre held a fire extinguisher out the driver’s side door and opened the valve, emitting a gas that affected the police officers as they were in active pursuit. Not long after that, Longacre crashed the car and it ended up in the St. Joseph River. He was arrested and has been charged with seven felonies, including Auto Theft, Possession of Precursors and Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer.