SOUTH WHITLEY, Ind. – The new year could bring prison time for a man accused of stealing and selling more than 200 feeder pigs from an Indiana farm.

John Walsh, 29, is charged with Level 5 felony burglary and Level 6 felony theft.

The alleged crimes happened over a three-month period beginning in May from a hog farm where Walsh worked in South Whitley in the northeast part of the state.

Wayne Smith, a detective with the Whitley County Sheriff’s office, said he wasn’t sure how the thefts were able to continue for an extended period of time without the knowledge of the farm owners.

However, Smith said he suspects the farm owners were led to believe the hogs had disappeared from deaths within the herd.

Eventually, the owners became suspicious enough to contact police on Aug. 16, a week after the latest disappearance of 62 pigs at the farm.

According to court documents, investigators quickly located signs of a trailer recently being pulled into the livestock loading zone at the farm.

Calls were then made to various locations where livestock is sold, which led to Walsh being identified as the seller of pigs on multiple occasions at the Rochester Sale Barn in Fulton County, according to court documents. Those sales included the last 62 pigs taken from the farm.

Police said the investigation also led to the discovery of more pigs from the farm sold by Walsh at the Shipshewana Auction Barn. Walsh is accused of selling 237 stolen pigs at both locations for a total of nearly $26,000.

 “After some more digging that is what we turned up,” Smith said.

According to court documents, Walsh told investigators he sold and hauled pigs for a friend, but he refused to identify the friend. He also denied stealing pigs from the farm, authorities said.

A family member told investigators Walsh asked her in late August to pick up a check from the sale barn in Rochester.

Smith said he could not provide more information about the investigation to avoid the risk of impacting the jury pool should the case go to trial.

“I wish I could say more but until the case were to be fully prosecuted there’s not a whole lot more that can be said,” he said.

Walsh, who was released on bond in late December, could face anywhere from a one- to six-year sentence on the Level 5 felony charge along with a six- to 30-month sentence on the Level 6 felony count.

According to court records, Walsh hired private legal counsel instead of accepting a public defender to defend himself against the allegations.