News

Becker to decide if senator should face shoplifting charges

WVPE 88.1 Elkhart/South Bend | By Jeff Parrott

Published October 8, 2026 at 2:10 PM EDT

Indiana State Senator Ron Alting (left) and Elkhart County Prosecutor Vicki Becker (right)

Elkhart County Prosecutor Vicki Becker has agreed to serve as a special prosecutor to decide whether shoplifting charges should be filed against a state senator.

According to a story first reported Wednesday by the Lafayette Journal & Courier, police suspect Sen. Ron Alting of shoplifting. The 70-year-old Alting has been a Lafayette area Republican state senator for 28 years.

The paper reports that police suspect Alting of shoplifting twice, both from Walmart stores. Sept. 22 police responded to a store in Lafayette, and on Oct. 1, Monticello police were called to a store in that Carroll County city, where Alting lives.

Becker confirmed with WVPE that she's being assigned a case out of Tippecanoe County, where Lafayette is, but she declined to be interviewed.

Alting is up for re-election Nov. 3. He released a statement Wednesday saying he's "stepping back from actively campaigning."

He added, "I have been experiencing concerning changes in my judgment and cognitive functioning. Those changes have become serious enough that I have sought medical help and am now undergoing further evaluation, testing and treatment. I take responsibility for my actions and apologize to my family, my constituents and the store employees involved."