11-04-2025
St. Joseph County Police nab a wild turkey at Martin's. Watch the video here.
GRANGER ― Seven months before Thanksgiving, a turkey had the gumption to wander into a supermarket in Granger on Thursday afternoon.
It took the St. Joseph County Police Department about a half hour to deal with the rowdy trespasser that disrupted the pharmacy department at the Martin's Super Market store at 12850 Indiana 23 on Thursday, April 10.
Police were sent to the grocery store around 2:30 p.m. following a 911 call indicating that the turkey was knocking items off of shelves and harassing customers. Several police arrived and debated how to handle the bird.
The Humane Society of St. Joseph County was called, but it was busy on another turkey call. It turns out that the Humane Society is getting calls about turkeys right now because it's mating season, and some domesticated birds and other animals might have escaped enclosures because of the recent storms.
Knowing that they'd have to take care of the situation, police debated corralling the bird with blankets to get it to the door until K-9 Officer Kyle O'Konski finally picked the bird up by its legs and carried it outside where it was free to roam.
"The good news, no harm, no fowl," the department wrote in a Facebook post. "The turkey was peacefully escorted off the premises and released completely unharmed."
The Facebook post also noted that O'Konski is "now certified in poultry negotiations!"
Email Tribune staff writer Ed Semmler at esemmler@
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: A wild turkey caused excitement at a South Bend area grocery store
