LAFAYETTE, Ind. — He was arrested in the Florida Keys, but his crimes may have started years before in Lafayette.
In September, Jason Wilhelm, 42, told Jonathan Martin that he was going to leave Lafayette and go to the Florida Keys. Martin, who began talking to Wilhelm on Facebook because of their love for cars, told him to stop by his place in Tennessee on his way.
Wilhelm agreed, but Martin would soon wish he hadn’t. Soon after Wilhelm arrived at Martin’s home in Putnam County, Tennessee, Martin was given a “date rape” drug, and when he woke up Wilhelm was gone and so were several of Martin’s guns, said the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
On Nov. 1, Wilhelm was arrested by Monroe County sheriff’s deputies in Florida for giving a false name while trying to sell a gun, entering the Keys without registering as a convicted felon and possessing ammunition as a convicted felon, said the Miami Herald.
More charges were added a few days later. On Thursday, Wilhelm was charged for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
He’s currently being held in the Stock Island jail under at $125,000 bond.
However, Wilhelm’s criminal history started even before he left for the Keys, he was out on bond for pushing a pregnant woman down a flight of stairs.
Police in Lafayette also told Putnam County police that Wilhelm is a suspect in multiple rapes. The women were given the same type of drug that Martin was given before his guns were stolen.
Putnam Detective Craig Capps said that Wilhelm was known for dealing in illegal drugs.
The Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s office said they are working with law enforcement in Tennessee and Florida on the case.
(Photo: Monroe County Sheriff’s Office)
