NEWTON COUNTY, Ind. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A man is in custody after stealing the car of a Good Samaritan who tried to help him Monday.
A Good Samaritan stopped to help a driver who had crashed his vehicle in Newton County at approximately 6:20 a.m., on US 41 near CR 300 W, just north of Morocco, Indiana.
According to Indiana State Police, once the Good Samaritan was closer to the incident, the driver pulled a gun and demanded that he be driven away from the crash scene.
The Good Samaritan was released, unharmed, a few miles away and the suspect fled east with the vehicle.
A state police officer heard the dispatch for the carjacking and headed to the US 30 and SR 39 area. The officer was traveling eastbound on US 30, and as he approached Oak Road and US 30 he saw the stolen vehicle, described as a gray Chrysler Sebring with Illinois plates.
According to police, Cihonski is also being held in connection with the armed robberies that occurred in Cedar Lake and Lowell. Formal charges are to be determined by the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office.
Questions about the car-jacking should be directed to the Newton County Sheriff’s Department at 219-474-6081.