Woman doesn’t show to serve time
A Brown County woman faces two felonies after she failed to show up to serve time in jail. She had been sentenced to 90 days for not paying child support.
Alysa Burton, 26, was sentenced to 90 days on May 4 in two different juvenile paternity cases. She was supposed to post a $1,000 bond to be released from jail in each case and that money would be credited toward child support, a probable cause affidavit by investigator Steve Brahaum states.
Burton was granted temporary leave at the hearing and was not required to go directly to the jail. She was supposed to report at 4 p.m. later that day, the affidavit states.
Jail commander Tony Sciscoe reported that Burton failed to show up at 4. According to records at the jail, Burton also never paid the $1,000 cash bond.
She was charged Aug. 16 with two Level 6 felonies for failure to return to lawful detention.
Footprints lead police to suspect
A 19-year-old Brown County man faces a felony charge for attempting to steal a utility vehicle from Rinnie Seitz Road on Aug. 22.
Police responded to a report of an attempted theft just after 2 a.m. in the 8000 block, according to a probable cause affidavit by Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Stargell.
When Stargell and Deputy William Pool arrived, they found the Kubota still running in the driveway. Stargell saw fresh footprints in the dew-covered grass near the vehicle.
Stargell and Pool followed the footprints and found a pair of black-and-camouflage gloves just past a gate that was left open, the affidavit said. They followed the footprints past a wired fence and saw tall weeds that had been smashed down. They reported hearing a man yelling, “Who is it?” and “You better get off my property.”
Footprints could be seen going toward a shed where a campfire was burning. They also went toward a home in the 1300 block of Harrison Ridge Road.
The officers made contact with the property owner and another man, later identified as Jamison Durham, 19, of Harrison Ridge Road. Durham told police he knew nothing about the theft and agreed to let the officers go into the shed. At the shed, the officers reported seeing a pair of tennis shoes in the gravel that were wet and covered in grass and seeds. Stargell reported that the seeds looked like what he had Pool had on their boots from walking on the victim’s property.
Stargell noted that Durham did not have any tall weeds or grass in his yard that would cause seeds to get on the shoes. They also reported finding a shotgun with wet grass and mud on it.
In the shed, the officers also reported finding a small bag of marijuana remnants and a plastic baggie with four pills later identified to be Alprazolam, a controlled substance. Durham denied knowing about the pills, but he told police he sleeps in the shed, and his friends occasionally stay in the shed, too.
The Kubota owner’s son told officers he was working at a desk when he heard the UTV start. He went downstairs, turned the lights on, shined a flashlight at the UTV in the driveway and yelled, causing the suspect to run off.
Stargell took the UTV key to test for DNA, as well as the gloves and the tennis shoes. Durham was detained and read his Miranda Rights. He told police they would not find his DNA on the items.
He said the footprints leading to his home were from his grandmother walking back and forth. He said he ran to the home when he saw flashlights and woke his grandparents up, the affidavit said.
Durham was arrested and taken to the Brown County jail. He was charged Aug. 22 with attempted theft, a Level 6 felony, and possession of a controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor.
Men take off house arrest bracelets
Two men face felony charges in Brown County after police say they took off their house arrest bracelets in separate cases.
On Aug. 16, Joshua Rice, 37, of Sweetwater Trail, was charged with escape, a Level 6 felony. Rice cut off his GPS ankle bracelet on July 24 and left his home without approval, according to a probable cause affidavit by Brown County Community Corrections field officer Gregory Pittman. He had been placed on house arrest July 12 for stalking, criminal trespass and resisting law enforcement, the affidavit states.
When officers arrived at the Hilltop Motel in Franklin, which Rice had as his current residence, they were unable to find him. The bracelet was found two miles from the motel.
A large machete also was found at Rice’s home. Police learned he had been taken to Columbus Regional Hospital from a hospital in Seymour for a self-inflicted wound that required surgery at Indiana University West Hospital in Avon.
According to the affidavit, Rice never contacted Community Corrections after being released and did not respond to text messages. Field officers then received a tip that Rice was staying at a hotel in Edinburgh. He was taken into custody by Johnson County deputies on the escape warrant.
On Aug. 22, Ethan Halcomb, 27, also was charged with Level 6 felony escape after police received a notification that he had tampered with his GPS ankle monitor on Aug. 19.
When field officer Tommy Back tried to call Halcomb, he hung up on him when Back identified himself, then all other calls went to voicemail.
Back and officer Terry West went to a home in Bloomington where Halcomb had been staying. They found the GPS device along the side of the road a couple of blocks from the house. One of the people in the home said Halcomb was having a bad day and took off on foot.
Stop results in marijuana, paraphernalia charges
A traffic stop for a red license plate light resulted in a local man being charged with drug and paraphernalia possession.
The stop happened just after 10 p.m. July 30 on Salt Creek Road near State Road 46 East, according to a probable cause affidavit by Indiana State Police Trooper Matthew Hatchett. When Hatchett approached the vehicle to speak with the driver, Landon Cambridge, 18, of Wells Drive, Hatchett reported smelling marijuana in the vehicle.
When asked about the smell, Cambridge said he had not been smoking, but the two passengers he had in his car had been.
Cambridge handed Hatchett an electronic cigarette, a black container with marijuana inside and a plastic bag with marijuana in it. He said it was all his and that he had picked the passengers up so they could smoke with him, the affidavit states.
Cambridge told Hatchett he had not smoked marijuana in the last 24 hours and Hatchett reported not seeing any signs of intoxication in him.
He was issued a summons and a warning for an improper license plate light. Everyone was released from the scene. Cambridge was charged Aug. 17 with one misdemeanor for marijuana possession.
Driver in crash arrested for driving while intoxicated
A Columbus man was arrested in Brown County on Aug. 15 after police say he crashed his car while driving under the influence of alcohol.
Joseph N. Oltman, 28, crashed on State Road 46 West near the Brown County State Park west gate entrance just after 3:30 a.m., according to a probable cause affidavit by Indiana State Police Trooper Matthew Hatchett.
Hatchett reported smelling alcohol on Oltman, that his speech was slurred, his eyes were red and watery, his manual dexterity was poor and his balance was unsteady.
Oltman allegedly admitted to drinking alcoholic beverages. Hatchett reported he had an “abusive attitude” after he was arrested. He also reported that Oltman failed to shut off his vehicle.
A breath test showed his blood-alcohol content to be 0.22, more than twice the legal limit.
He was charged with three alcohol-related misdemeanors on Aug. 16.
