Payne man arrested for May, 2022 burglary

VW independent staff

A third person has been arrested in connection with a May, 2022 burglary and assault at a Van Wert home.

Seth Nicholas Hitzeman, 20, of Payne was arrested Monday by deputies in Huntington, Indiana. According to the Huntington County Sheriff’s Office, the arrest was made after a routine traffic stop. Deputies learned of a warrant for Hitzeman’s arrest and they noted a gun was found in Hitzeman’s car.

The warrant charged him with aggravated burglary, a first degree felony; two counts of kidnapping, both second degree felonies and two counts of felonious assault, second degree felonies. He was taken into custody and was later transported to the Van Wert County Correctional Facility.

Bond was set at $250,000 cash or commercial surety. He’s due back in court for a pretrial hearing on March 30.

The charges are tied to a break-in at a home in the 300 block of S. Tyler St. last May. One of the residents in the home was brutally beaten and was hospitalized.

Two others involved in the crime have been sentenced for their roles. Johnathon Miller, 19, of Van Wert was sentenced in February to 15-20 1/2 years in prison, while Kaiden Gilbert, 20, also of Van Wert was sentenced Tuesday to 8-12 years in prison.