A downtown hotel sustained minor fire damage to a room when a blaze erupted early Monday, according to Fort Wayne firefighters.

Firefighters were called to the Fort Wayne Hotel and Conference Center, 300 E. Washington Blvd., just before 5 a.m. Monday. A fire was on the third floor of the hotel, but most of the flames had already been extinguished by a sprinkler system by the time firefighters arrived.

There were 15 occupants in the hotel at the time of the blaze.

No one was injured, and the hotel remained open for business. The room where the fire started sustained minor fire damage and heavy water damage. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

Three arrested in copper thefts

Three men have been arrested on allegations they stole copper from irrigations systems along the Marshall-Kosciusko County line, according to Kosciusko County sheriff’s deputies.

Jeffery Mettler Jr., 30; Nathaniel McConnell, 19; and Jason Mullins, 28; all of Etna Green, were arrested. Each faces a preliminary felony count of theft and was booked at the Kosciusko County Jail on $2,000 bail.

Detectives say the men sold the copper to scrap yards. They estimate between $50,000 and $60,000 worth of copper was stolen.

The men may also be responsible for stealing copper from abandoned homes in parts of Kosciusko County, detectives said.

Charges filed in credit union fraud

A Fort Wayne man faces formal charges on allegations he stole more than $16,500 from a credit union, according to Allen Superior Court records filed Monday.

Terry Finney, 20, of the 1000 block of Coliseum Boulevard West, faces charges of fraud on a financial institution, theft and check fraud. He was being held in lieu of $15,000 bail.

Police say between June and October, Finney wrote a number of checks to himself at MidWest America Federal Credit Union – knowing his account had insufficient funds.

The 41 checks totaled more than $16,500. In addition, Finney incurred close to $1,500 in bad check fees, court records state.

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