Charges filed against driver involved in crash
Charges have now been filed against a Brown County man for driving while intoxicated after he crashed in January.
Police responded to the crash before 10 p.m. on State Road 135 North near Grandma Barnes Road on Jan. 20. A third-party caller reported the crash and stated that the driver, Gary Hollett, 66, had said he did not want police called because he was drunk at the time, according to an accident report by Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Colton Magner.
Magner saw a vehicle off the road with heavy front end damage. Hollett told police he was on his way home when he lost control of his vehicle and struck a tree. He said he had finished work at 4 p.m. and drank three beers before driving home.
In a probable cause affidavit filed July 10, Indiana State Police Trooper Matt Hatchett reported smelling alcohol on Hollett and seeing alcoholic beverage containers in the vehicle. His speech was slurred and he had unsteady balance, he wrote, the officer wrote, and Hollett had an “apparent abusive attitude.”
Hollett was arrested, but refused a chemical test. In April, the results were returned showing that his blood-alcohol content was 0.12.
In Magner’s accident report, he stated that the road had been plowed and salted, and that it was dry and not slick.
Snow off to the side of the road showed the path the vehicle took. Magner reported that there was a void in the tracks that showed the vehicle had been airborne before returning to the ground and hitting the tree.
The vehicle was towed. Hollett had swelling near his right eye, but refused transport to the hospital by ambulance, according to the crash report.
Charges were officially filed against Hollett on July 10.
Driver transported after crash on State Road 46 East
GNAW BONE — A 66-year-old Columbus man was taken to the hospital with a possible back injury on July 18 after police say he rear-ended another vehicle on State Road 46 East.
Andrew Woodall, 29, of Nashville, told police he was stopped in the 5100 block of 46 East in the eastbound lane turning north into a driveway when the crash occurred, according to an accident report by Det. Paul Henderson with the Brown County Sheriff’s Department.
Woodall said he looked into his rearview mirror and saw Raymond Cowan approaching at a “high rate of speed.” Woodall told police it appeared Cowan was on a cellphone.
Cowan was unable to get out of the car without assistance and had a wheelchair in the back. He was complaining of severe back pain and was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Woodall had pain in his shoulder and upper arm area, but he was treated at the scene, according to the report.
Cowan’s vehicle was towed. Both drivers were wearing their seat belts.
Local man faces felony of battery
A 43-year-old Brown County man faces a felony for allegedly kicking a police officer in April.
Joshua Easterday of Gatesville Road was formally charged July 15 with battery against a public safety official, a Level 6 felony; resisting law enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor; and two counts of disorderly conduct, Class B misdemeanors.
Sgt. Keith Lawson with the Nashville Police Department reported that Easterday made loud comments and was yelling at a driver on April 13 who had been involved in a crash. Lawson told Easterday to stop yelling several times, the probable cause affidavit states.
The report did not specify if Easterday had any role in the crash.
Lawson reported that Easterday kicked his arm and leg while the officer was in full uniform. Easterday also pulled away from Lawson and Officer Jake Hollingsworth several times while the officers attempted to move him to a different area of the patrol car. Easterday kicked Lawson again while he was trying to move him, the report said.
Easterday was booked into the Brown County jail at 2:30 p.m. April 13 on charges of battery on law enforcement, resisting law enforcement and disorderly conduct.
Police: Man was driving while drunk
A traffic stop on July 7 resulted in a Kentucky man being arrested for driving while intoxicated.
Nashville Police Officer William Pruitt pulled over Kyle T. Routt, 29, of Versailles, Kentucky, at Circle K on State Road 46 East at 3:17 p.m. Routt was reportedly going 74 miles per hour in a 50 mph zone.
According to the report, after turning into the Circle K lot by a gas pump, Routt began to get out of the car and Pruitt instructed him to remain in the vehicle. Routt did so, leaving the door open as he spoke with Pruitt, who reported smelling the odor of alcohol on Routt and noticing that his speech was slurred and eyes were bloodshot.
A portable breath test showed his blood-alcohol content to be 0.15, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08, the report said.
Routt told officers he had had two beers at a local bar.
He was released at 1:36 a.m. July 8 after posting $500 bond.
On July 15, Routt was charged with one count of operating a vehicle with an ACE of 0.08 or more, a Class C misdemeanor.
Man faces charges after accident
VAN BUREN TWP. — A crash on July 9 resulted in an Edinburgh man being charged with three misdemeanors.
Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Nicholson Briles went to the scene of the crash in the 6400 block of Bellsville Pike at 9:37 p.m. It involved a vehicle driven by Jonathan Bringle, 42.
Briles had reason to believe Bringle was intoxicated because he could smell the alcohol on his breath and alcoholic beverage containers were in view, the officer’s report said. He wrote that Bringle was very frustrated, unsteady and stumbling.
A portable breath test showed his alcohol-blood content to be 0.236, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08.
Bringle was booked into jail at 1:50 a.m. on July 10 and released at 5:13 p.m. the same day after posting $500 bond.
On July 15, Bringle was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, endangering a person — a Class A misdemeanor; operating a vehicle with an ACE of 0.08 or more — a Class C misdemeanor; and operating a vehicle while intoxicated — a Class C misdemeanor.
Search for missing teen results in arrest
CORDRY-SWEETWATER — A welfare check resulted in the arrest of a young man on an illegal drinking charge.
Officer Vernon McGaha started an investigation at 8 a.m. May 21 after a parent called the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, concerned about the whereabouts of his son, Andrew M. Rector, 19, of Greenwood.
Rector had reportedly left his home with two friends to go to a house at Cordry-Sweetwater lakes. One of the friends was the daughter of the owner of the home. They later returned without him, bringing Rector’s car, phone and other personal items with them.
Officer McGaha went to the house on Grizzly Drive and found it to be secure.
One of the friends later saw that the house next door had screens pulled out and a window open, according to the report. One of friends went inside and found Rector sleeping on the couch.
Rector and a friend had reportedly gotten into a disagreement, and Rector walked out. The police report said Rector later went back to the cabin, banged on the door and thought they had locked him out, so he pulled out the screen and went inside. He didn’t realize he had entered the wrong home, the report said.
A blood-alcohol test was given to Rector and the level at the time was 0.05.
Rector was arrested on preliminary charges of residential entry and illegal consumption. He was released at 3:21 p.m. the same day on a $3,000 bond. He was formally charged on July 17 with illegal consumption of an alcoholic beverage, a Class C misdemeanor.
