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Security Camera Footage Shows Suspect in Factory Vandalism

By Jeff Neumeyer
June 18, 2010 Updated Dec 23, 2009 at 5:39 PM EST FORT WAYNE, IN (Indiana's NewsCenter) --- We now have security camera video, showing the suspect police think gained entry into a Fort Wayne factory, before doing millions in vandalism damage. The pictures were taken from cameras mounted on a business next to Hoosier Pride Plastics. The first piece of footage shows a shadowy figure walking along the side of the factory building about 1:20 a.m. Sunday. A different camera shows the suspect walking through snow away from the scene seconds later, briefly turning around and possibly gesturing in the direction of Hoosier Pride Plastics. Throughout the business, wiring was severed, control panels were destroyed, and plugs were pulled on equipment, allowing 25-hundred gallons of hydraulic oil to leak out into the factory. Owner Mike Hoeppner seems to think it's a former employee, with a personal vendetta against him, who used his inside knowledge of the plant to do upwards of three million dollars in damage. 23 employees are out of work around the holidays until repairs can be made. Hoeppner says the damage is so extensive he may have to downsize. If there’s any good news, it’s that some of his competitors offered to let the company use their presses to fill customer orders. Hoeppner believes production will resume the first week of January, and that customers will be taken care of without having to wait on deliveries. If you have any information about this crime, you are urged to contact Crime stoppers at 436-STOP.
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