The body of Thomas Haskins was a day away from being cremated – and his closest kin didn’t even know he was dead.FORT WAYNE – A burglar who has stolen lottery tickets from a dozen gas stations in the Fort Wayne area and claimed the winnings has so far eluded local authorities.
Since early February, the thief has struck gas stations in Allen, Wabash, Madison, LaGrange and Steuben counties, swiping display cases of scratch-off tickets and collecting the proceeds at another station, said Cpl. Jeremy Tinkel, a spokesman for the Allen County Sheriff’s Department.
Surveillance cameras captured images of the thief, a dark-haired, white man with a goatee wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt. Authorities released the images Friday.
Tinkel said a second person took part in the thefts but was not caught on camera. The getaway car was a white Dodge Stratus, he said.
Anyone with information about the burglaries is asked to call the Allen County Sheriff’s Department at 449-7409.
Tinkel could not say whether the thefts are related to a Jan. 7 burglary at a liquor store in south Fort Wayne. During that break-in, several cases of lottery tickets were stolen from Belmont Beverage in Southgate shopping center.
