Sword-wielding man arrested on NW Ind. highway

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. — State police say troopers found a shirtless man marching along Interstate 65 in northwestern Indiana while holding a nearly 3 foot-long samurai-style sword.

The man was spotted Sunday near where a car was abandoned in the middle lane of I-65 in Merrillville. Police say the man swung the sword in a defensive manner as officers approached him but dropped it when ordered. He then tried to get into an SUV that had stopped to avoid hitting the man and officers.

Police say that after the man was taken into custody he gave troopers different names or addresses. When he was taken to the Lake County Jail, he said that he was “cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs” but wouldn’t give his identity.

He was jailed on resisting arrest and other charges.