A Crown Point man sawed through a strip club roof trying to steal money in the safe and ATM, charges allege.
Christian Felkamp, 23, was charged on Nov. 23 with burglary.
He is in custody, held on a $5,000 cash surety bond. His next hearing is on Dec. 3 before Judge Salvador Vasquez.
Hammond Police were dispatched at 10:44 a.m. Nov. 22 to Fantasy Gentlemen’s Club, 3850 179th St., after an alarm was triggered.
They found the back door propped open. Inside, the safe had been moved from the back office. Someone had tried to break into the ATM.
Cops saw a hole in the roof above the dance floor.
They found Felkamp parked in a Dodge Durango nearby. He tried to start the vehicle and drive off. Officers ordered him out.
He claimed he was in the area after getting into a fight with his girlfriend the night before in Gary’s Miller section about taking her medication.
Cops found a backpack. Inside was a Milwaukee-branded sawzall.
The club’s security video shows sparks falling to the dance stage around 10:14 a.m. Cops estimated it took Felkamp 20 minutes to break in through the roof.
The video shows he dropped the backpack to the stage and climbed into the club.
He used an angle grinder to try to break into the ATM.
Before he could, cops arrived. He was “spooked,” according to the video, and went out another door.
Video footage shows a man running on 179th Street toward the vacant lot where Felkamp was arrested.
At the police station, he denied he had anything do to with it. At some point, he heard a sawing sound coming from the area but claimed he ignored it.
He was found with other items like a hoodie and boots that matched the video, charges state.
Police learned a Durango was also linked to a nearby burglary about 10 days prior. In court records, a Hammond detective confirmed Felkamp was the suspect. Charges have not yet been filed.
Felkamp is also facing charges from July in a fraud and theft case.
mcolias@post-trib.com