4 Amish Teens Caught Breaking Into Home — Charged With Felony Burglary, Underage Drinking; Buggies Towed
Four Amish youth have landed themselves in hot water, after allegedly breaking into a home in Holmes County, Ohio. Deputies arrived to see them fleeing – and they were apparently still inside the home when law enforcement arrived.
Those involved face charges including felony burglary, underage alcohol offenses, and for one, even an assault charge.
This happened in Salt Creek Township on June 21st. And it wasn’t an especially late-night event – deputies were called out a little before 8pm. From the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office press release:
On June 21, 2026, at approximately 7:54 PM, the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting a burglary in progress at a residence on Township Road 601 in Salt Creek Township.
The caller reported that several Amish juveniles were actively attempting to gain entry into the home.
Deputies responded immediately and, upon arrival, observed multiple juveniles fleeing from the residence.
A preliminary investigation determined that the suspects had forced entry into the home and were still inside when deputies arrived on scene.
Deputies had to chase after the youth, and sounds like they even dispatched their drone team to track them:
A foot pursuit was initiated, resulting in three juveniles being taken into custody nearby. The Sheriff’s Office Drone Team was deployed to assist with the search.
Two additional juveniles fled into the surrounding area but were located approximately three miles away following an extended search and were apprehended without further incident.
Two buggies belonging to the youth were even towed from the scene, as you can see captured in the top photo. The charges include:
• Burglary / Trespass in a Habitation (Felony of the 4th Degree)
• Obstructing Official Business
• Underage Alcohol Offenses
…along with an Assault charge for one of the group.
What was going on here?
Not sure what the thinking was here – or if there was much of that at all, on the part of these four to begin with. Was this a case of teens simply having too much to drink – and landing on the dumb idea of breaking into a home? Or was there more premeditation than that?
Was it the home of someone they knew, or a random one? And was the “getaway plan” as airtight as they might have thought, given that they were on the property with their not-exactly-speedy buggies? Lots of questions here, including their precise ages, though the term used is “juvenile”, indicating they were under 18 years old.
One thing that is apparent – if we look closely at the towed buggy image, we can see that there is no SMV triangle or lighting on the back, and the buggies have the characteristic open fronts – indications that these guys are most likely from a Swartzentruber Amish group.
It’s no secret that Amish youth in some communities get themselves into trouble sometimes – often involving alcohol. Some communities and groups have a reputation for wild parties, in some cases leading to the arrest of dozens of Amish youth.
This has even drawn public pleas from law enforcement for help from the community – as in the case of the large northern Indiana settlement in 2025. Still, going from “typical party behavior” to the act of breaking into someone’s home is a pretty big escalation. And we don’t know based on the report whether this sprung from a party or just a limited group of youth getting into trouble on their own.
The Holmes County Amish community does have a strong adult-supervised component to many of their youth groups. But as the most diverse of all Amish communities, you’re going to get some wilder behavior as well. Here’s a case where it went even further than that, and the youth involved now have to deal with the consequences.
Kids
Amish kids are no different than any others kids they get in trouble too. Press charges against them and move on.
Amish Young People
The influence of non Amish society is evident, not just in this incident, but in smaller, easily overlooked ways. For example, the last time we went to an outdoor flea market/ country sale, the older Amish were thrilled to speak German (Schwäbisch dialect in my case, which they could readily understand)with me, and smiled. One dear older lady and I even made a comparison of words! The young people at the doughnut and drink stand, however, were rather brusque and only answered in English. These were so called Old Order, so Deitsch should have been second nature, since the older folks spoke it. I dress more conservatively: solid color shirts, black pants, unadorned shoes. when I was working (I am now retired), it made getting ready for the office surprisingly simple! I still wonder at how much the attitudes of those young people resembled the way non-Amish young people react to older folks: not directly disrespectful, but with a not completely concealed (dare I say it!) disdain. In my opinion, it was only a matter of time until certain boundaries became blurred. Like the Lubavitch Hassidim in our city, influences of our often less than Godly society press in and bring about certain changes in attitude which are, honestly, disappointing to say the least. My late mother used to say that influence in the home is one thing; once the young go out that front door one can only hope and pray they remember!
What really happened.
Hello, this is a Danner youngie who lives not to far from there. This was not just a burglary there were intentions of killing one of the guys there . This was a “bei die gma singen” (by the church singing.) One time already a group of swarties showed up to one of our chillings (parties) with sledge hammers and sawed off shotguns.