Shoplifting call
leads to foot chase
Staff writer
A 26-year-old Florence man remained in jail Tuesday after running from Hillsboro police who responded to a shoplifting call Sunday morning at Dollar General.
When officer Peyton Heidebrecht arrived at the store, he checked records for suspect Brian Hiebert and found he was wanted on theft and forgery warrants.
Heidebrecht called for sheriff’s deputy Bruce Burke, but before Burke arrived, Heidebrecht reported that Hiebert was attempting to run away, according to monitored police transmissions.
Heidebrecht ran after Hiebert past CarQuest and Elcon Services. He asked dispatchers to inform assistant police chief Randy Brazil, but they told him they were already talking to Chief Jessey Hiebert, who is not related to the suspect.
Heidebrecht called in from a mobile home park on 3rd St. and searched outbuildings nearby in the 400 block of N. Cedar St. Brazil received a phone call that the suspect was in a specific trailer. The caller was watching the trailer.
Police found the suspect at 12:02 p.m. He told them he was experiencing chest pains. Hillsboro ambulance attendants checked him but did not take him to the hospital.
He is accused of stealing a mini torch, four Bic lighters, two round metal containers, and four plastic round containers from Dollar General. He was in jail Tuesday in lieu of a $10,000 bond.
Jail records indicate he faces charges of interference with a law enforcement officer, two counts of theft, and one count of forgery.
David Yoder, a Goessel lawyer appointed to represent Hiebert, said Tuesday that he had not yet reviewed the case and had no comment.