Auburn man held in Allen slaying

The identity of the man who died has not been released. He was found dead in his house in Oak Crossing, a housing addition north of Fort Wayne with lush lawns and earth-tone colored houses.

A friend discovered the body, and medics and sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the house at 5315 Lonesome Oak Court, near Tonkel and East Dupont roads, about 11:40 a.m. Saturday.

While investigating the death, Allen County detectives learned that IPFW police had arrested Alexander on Friday on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and resisting law enforcement.

It turned out that Alexander had been driving the victim’s vehicle, the sheriff’s department said.

Authorities have not disclosed other information about the man’s death, including the cause and manner. The county coroner’s office is expected to release his identity and autopsy results showing how he died.

On Sunday, residents of the Oak Crossing addition expressed shock at the loss of a neighbor.

“You don’t expect someone to be killed in your neighborhood, especially across the street,” Ashley Esther, 32, said. “It’s a great neighborhood. So we’re hoping it’s just an anomaly.”

The worst crime in recent years in the addition that she could recall was a garage break-in.

Esther said she would exchange greetings with the man and once went to a party at his house. She said he often had friends over but that the gatherings were small and not loud.

Other neighbors remembered the man as friendly, helpful and possessing a passion for decorating during holidays. Describing his Christmas light display, one neighbor said, “You could see it from the satellite.”

He had lived there since the late 1990s, and he had two dogs. “They meant the world to him,” another neighbor said.

aingersoll@jg.net