Northwest Indiana Discussion

BB shooting suspect arrested

VALPARAISO | Police announced an arrest Thursday morning in connection with a string of BB shootings reported across central and southern Porter County.

Police expect to charge Dennis Ditterline, 38, of Porter Township, with multiple counts of felony criminal recklessness and misdemeanor criminal mischief in connection with dozens of reported shootings in the past three months.

Valparaiso police Sgt. Mike Grennes said officers apprehended Ditterline about 7:20 p.m. Wednesday after he left his home in the 400 block of Meadowwood Drive and reportedly shot at cars with a BB gun near Lakes of the Four Seasons. Grennes said officers from a number of departments had been running surveillance on the man for days, following an extensive review of security footage from an incident earlier this month outside the Valparaiso Walmart store.

On the morning of May 9, officers responded to the store, 2400 Morthland Drive, after a homeless man reported the window of his minivan, in which he lived, was shattered by a BB gun. Officers said the man described the suspect vehicle as a Ford SUV and he also was able to provide a partial license plate number.

From there, Valparaiso Detective Jeff Balon and Porter County Detective Eric Jones reviewed multiple security footage feeds at the store, which reportedly showed Ditterline using his personal credit card to make a purchase inside the store before heading to his SUV and reportedly shooting the minivan.

Balon said when questioned Wednesday night, Ditterline was able to identify the dates and a locations of a number of incidents in Valparaiso and rural Porter County.

"He started implicating himself as the person responsible for the shootings," Balon said.

Jones, who headed the investigation for the Porter County Sheriff's Department, said Ditterline admitted to shooting occupied, moving and parked vehicles and homes during the past three months, but said he wasn't the person responsible for reported school bus shootings in Winfield, Crown Point and Merrillville.

During the interview, Jones said Ditterline, who is unemployed, said he shot at the cars because he was "frustrated with life." Ditterline also reportedly told Balon the attacks were completely random.

Grennes said he expects Ditterline will face multiple felony criminal recklessness and misdemeanor criminal mischief charges in connection with the reported shootings. Grennes said once detectives are able to firm up which shootings they believe Ditterline responsible for, they will present their findings to the Porter County prosecutor's office.

Ditterline is being held at Porter County Jail.

Grennes said the investigation into the other reported shootings is ongoing, and just minutes after Ditterline was taken into custody by detectives Wednesday night, Valparaiso police responded to yet another reported BB shooting.

Two men riding bicycles on Roosevelt Road just south of Vale Park Road told police they were shot at by a man in a tan Ford Crown Victoria with a BB gun. While the men weren't hit, a window at a nearby video store was reportedly shattered.