CHESTERTON, Ind. — An Indianapolis man was stopped for a traffic violation in Porter County Wednesday, then arrested because he had an outstanding felony warrant in Marion County. He faces even more charges for possession of a stolen handgun and resisting during his arrest.
Kyle T. Wright, 29, is in the Porter County Jail after police said he fought with the trooper on Interstate 94 Wednesday morning.
The trooper went to the hospital to be treated for hand injuries after the scuffle. He has since been released and is expected to make a full recovery.
Wright was cleared by medics before going to jail.
The trooper stopped Wright along I-94 near Chesterton around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. During the traffic stop, the trooper learned of Wright's outstanding felony warrant attempted to arrest him.
During the process of getting handcuffed, police said Wright began to resist. A physical altercation on the side of the highway ensued with the trooper giving "loud, verbal, lawful commands for Mr. Wright to stop resisting."
Police said Wright was attempting to reach for the trooper's holstered handgun and ripped a portable radio microphone from his uniform. Wright appeared to surrender, but then tried to get up and escape from the trooper, who was finally able to finish handcuffing the suspect.
Additional police officers arrived and searched the Ford Explorer Wright was driving. According to a State Police account of the incident, they found a loaded Taurus 9MM handgun with an extended magazine. The handgun had been reported stolen in Hendricks County.
They also found marijuana in the SUV.
Court records show Wright was out on bond for a 2019 burglary and theft case in Indianapolis and failed to return to court for hearings in the case in 2020.
He now faces potential charges for possession of a stolen gun by a serious violent felon, battery and disarming a police officer, resisting arrest and drug possession.
As of Thursday morning, the Porter County Prosecutor’s Office had not filed formal charges.
Check back for updates.
