VAN BUREN TWP. — A 27-year-old Fredericksburg man has now been charged with felonies after he crashed his motorcycle on State Road 135 South last year.

On May 27, 2018, police found Brandon L. Schmitt lying in a ditch on the north side of the road, being treated by firefighters. Riders who were with Schmitt said he was driving at about 30 MPH when he went off the north side of the road and wrecked.

Schmitt was not wearing a helmet. He had lost consciousness, was bleeding from the mouth, and Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Chad Williams was unable to speak with him about what happened, according to an accident report. He was taken by a medical helicopter to Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital.

Williams reported that he could smell alcohol on Schmitt. His blood was saved for a subpoena.

On July 27, Schmitt was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Level 6 felony; operating a vehicle with a Schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite in the body, a Level 6 felony; and operating a vehicle while intoxicated — endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor.

Felony charges filed for not reporting to jail

A Brown County man faces two felonies for failing to show up to serve time in jail twice.

In May, Christian Hutchens, 34, was sentenced to serve 18 days in the Brown County jail on consecutive weekends beginning May 24.

On June 7, Hutchens failed to report to the jail, according to Jail Commander Tony Sciscoe. On June 14 Hutchens did not report until 10:23 p.m., nearly an hour later than he was ordered.

On July 26, Hutchens was charged with two counts of failure to return to lawful detention, both Level 6 felonies.

Public intoxication at hotel leads to arrest

A local hotel called police on July 7 to report a woman trespassing, leading to a charge of public intoxication.

At 9:24 a.m., Officer Evan Painter responded for a possible intoxicated woman at a hotel who was “talking to herself and waving her arms around, causing staff to be nervous,” according to the police report.

The manager took Painter to the woman at the pool, and he immediately noticed that she was intoxicated in some way due to her slurred speech and inability to answer his questions in a way that made sense.

Deputy Rogers arrived on the scene to assist Painter.

Dispatch identified the woman as Leigh Ann Campodonico, 39, of Beech Grove.

She named three or four people with whom she was staying, but her story changed, the report said.

Painter did not smell alcohol on her and believed Campodonico to be under the influence of a narcotic. The officers escorted her out of the building and continued talking with her. Campodonico then admitted to using methamphetamine approximately four days prior, not having slept in that time period, the report said.

Family members could not be reached. Painter offered to take her to another local inn. Campodonico agreed and was detained in order to protect herself, the report said. An EMS unit checked her.

Campodonico told police she had used marijuana earlier in the day. Painter put her through three field sobriety tests, all of which she failed, his report said.

Campodonico was arrested at 10:20 a.m. She was released from jail at 2:32 a.m. the next day on her own recognizance. On July 15, she was formally charged with one count of public intoxication, a Class B misdemeanor.

Man arrested after flicking lit cigarette

One man was arrested on July 17 after police responded to a home on Short Chute Road.

Police made contact with Sean Hruban, 37, of Brown County, who was walking in the nearby woods, according to a probable cause affidavit by Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Nicholson Briles. A relative of Hruban’s was with the officers.

Briles saw Hruban with a lit cigarette in his hand. Hruban and his relative began arguing as they were beginning to walk back with Briles. While arguing, Hruban took his lit cigarette and flicked it at the relative, the report said. It hit the upper part of that person’s leg.

Officers agreed that flicking the cigarette was done in a “rude and insolent manner,” which is considered battery.

Hruban was arrested. He was formally charged on July 18 with domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor.

Man charged with perjury while trying to pull plea

A 29-year-old Brown County man has been charged with two counts of perjury after an investigation showed he lied in a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, police said.

Christopher Williams was charged July 19 with two counts of perjury, both Level 6 felonies. Brown County Chief Deputy Brad Stogsdill did the investigation, looking into Williams’ emails with his lawyer and with the Brown County probation department.

Williams had pleaded guilty in March to sexual misconduct with a minor, a Level 4 felony, in March.

In May, his attorney filed a motion to withdraw that plea agreement. In that motion, Williams said that he learned his credit time might be different than he expected after he had pleaded guilty, when he was interviewed for his pre-sentence investigation report.

At the hearing to withdraw his guilty plea, Williams testified under oath that the first time he learned his credit time would not be what he expected was during his pre-sentence investigation report with Acton on April 17. But Williams had sent an email to his public defender about the credit time on April 9.

Williams statement about his credit time was a factor in the court granting his request to set aside his guilty plea, and it was made under oath, Stogsdill’s report said.

Driver involved in crash charged with OWI

A 19-year-old Columbus man has been charged with three misdemeanors in Brown County after he crashed his vehicle after driving while intoxicated, police say.

Chad Newman crashed on Bear Wallow Hill Road July 21 just before 4:30 a.m. Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Kyle Minor reported smelling alcohol on Newman, that his speech was slurred and his eyes were bloodshot. A portable breath test showed his blood-alcohol content to be 0.14, more than the legal limit of 0.08, the affidavit states.

At the Brown County jail more than an hour later, a chemical test administered there had Newman’s BAC at 0.15, the police report said.

Newman was formally charged on July 23.