Police: Man hit woman twice in front of kids

A 35-year-old Brown County man faces a felony after police say he hit a woman twice in the presence of two children while they were trying to give him a birthday present.

Deputies responded to a home in the 9000 block of Spearsville Road just after 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 20 for a report of a man who had struck a woman and possibly a child.

Police reported finding the victim standing on the porch talking on the phone. While en route, they were notified that the suspect, Lucas Senn, had left the scene, according to a probable cause affidavit by Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Stargell.

Stargell reported seeing redness under the victim’s left eye and a small abrasion on the side of her nose. She told police Senn had punched her twice. She said she was holding a 3-month-old child throughout the incident and that the baby may have been struck when she was punched the second time because he immediately started crying, the affidavit states.

Stargell did not see any marks on the child.

The victim said Senn also had hit her two weeks prior, but she did not report it to police out of fear.

She said Senn had come home from work and slammed the door, saying he was in a bad mood. A 3-year-old in the home had wanted to throw Senn a birthday party since it was his birthday. The victim and the child had made Senn a cake, dinner and put together a photo album for him, the affidavit states.

The child was excited about the party, but Senn kept telling him he was in a bad mood and to leave him alone. At this point, the victim began recording Senn in case he escalated. Eventually, Senn realized the woman was recording him. He told her to stop, and she said she was recording him opening his gift. Senn then stood up from the couch and slapped the woman while she was seated on a loveseat holding the baby. He then called his mother and told her that the woman would not stop recording him before punching her a second time, the police report said.

At this point, the victim called for help, which angered Senn, and he left. Before leaving, the woman said Senn began punching himself repeatedly in the face and was saying he was going to tell police she had struck him too, according to the affidavit.

EMS arrived on scene to check the victim and baby. EMS reported no apparent injuries to the baby.

Stargell spoke with the 3-year-old who confirmed the victim’s story. He said the woman asked him to go get a neighbor who wasn’t at home, so the child used an app to contact a relative nearby for help. He also reported seeing Senn punch himself before leaving, the affidavit states.

Senn told police he never hit the woman. He said he left because it was a “bad situation” and that the woman had hit him multiple times.

The victim sent Stargell her videos the next day. “The slap is not visible, but it’s apparent that the movement of the phone is consistent with a slap,” the affidavit states.

On Oct. 25, Senn was charged with domestic battery, a Level 6 felony.

Man charged after grabbing woman, breaking phone

A 25-year-old Nashville man faces a felony and a misdemeanor for breaking a woman’s cellphone, grabbing her and shaking her, according to police.

On Oct. 18, Nashville Police Officer Abigail Beaver responded to a gas station in Nashville just before 11:30 p.m. for a report of a domestic incident. The victim was waiting there with a relative.

The woman told police that Blake Hurt had picked up a bank card from her earlier that day before returning at about 10 p.m. to pick her up from work. When she arrived home, she checked her mobile banking app and noticed that Hurt had gone to a gas station that was not near where he was supposed to be, the probable cause affidavit states.

When she asked Hurt about the transaction, he began yelling at her, she went upstairs, and Hurt followed. She went back downstairs to find alcohol Hurt had hidden because he becomes angry when he drinks, she told police.

She reported finding alcohol hidden in a nearby bush, and she questioned Hurt about it. He began yelling again and told her to leave, the report said.

The victim then went back downstairs to wait for Hurt to calm down so she could go to bed. He told her to leave again, then grabbed her cellphone from her lap and broke it in half. He grabbed her by both arms, squeezing tightly before shaking her, the report said.

He told the victim she was going to do whatever he wanted her to do. The victim began crying and Hurt went inside the home, locking her out. She then went to the gas station to call 911, according to the affidavit.

When officers went to speak with Hurt, he told them the argument was none of their business. When asked what happened again, Hurt admitted to breaking the phone. When asked if he physically grabbed the victim, Hurt denied doing so.

Hurt was arrested and taken to the Brown County jail. On Oct. 25, he was charged with domestic battery, a Level 6 felony, and criminal mischief, a Class B misdemeanor.

Local man charged nine months after incident

Charges were filed Oct. 23 against a Brown County man who was pulled over on suspicion of driving while intoxicated in January.

Nashville Police Officer Justin Anderson stopped William Szenay, 18, of Bear Creek Road at 12:13 a.m. Jan. 12. Anderson wrote in his report that Szenay was speeding 66 in a 50 on State Road 46 East near Forest Hills Apartments, with snow accumulating on the ground.

While Szenay was looking for his registration, Anderson reported smelling marijuana. He asked Szenay if he had any in the vehicle and the answer was no, the report said. When Anderson told him he’d be doing a search, Szenay admitted to having “a glass pipe with a burnt bowl in it.”

Anderson had Szenay step out of the car and then he noticed the odor of alcohol on him, the police report said. A second Nashville officer, William Pruitt, conducted field sobriety tests while Anderson did the vehicle search. He reported finding two glass pipes in the vehicle, one with a leafy substance in it.

After being read his rights, Szenay told the officers he’d drunk about two shots of vodka in his car before he left for working in Bloomington and had smoked marijuana about 45 minutes before the stop, the report said.

He was arrested on preliminary charges of operating while intoxicated, minor in consumption of alcohol and possession of marijuana. His blood was drawn for testing.

About why it took so long for charges to be filed, Brown County Prosecutor Ted Adams explained that there’s a backlog at the state lab for testing, with some results taking nine months to receive. The prosecutor’s office has chosen to await results for many blood draw cases before filing formal charges so as not to cause court delays for the state or the defendant, Adams said.

“Secondly, many of the cases we wait to file on may either be borderline alcohol cases or drug cases. We want to ensure we can prove the matter beyond a reasonable doubt prior to filing,” he said.

On misdemeanor matters, the state has two years to file charges.

Driver in Clay Lick Road crash arrested for OWI

A 23-year-old Brown County man faces three misdemeanors for operating a vehicle while intoxicated after police discovered he had been drinking before crashing his vehicle on Clay Lick Road Oct. 19.

Just before midnight, Nashville Police Officer Abigail Beaver responded to the crash in the 1500 block of Clay Lick Road and reported finding a vehicle halfway in a ditch with the rear end of the vehicle in the northbound lane.

Beaver reported the vehicle had struck an electric pole before coming to a stop in the ditch. Beaver began speaking with the driver, Steven Buttz, who said he was driving north on Clay Lick “pretty quickly” because he knew the road and ended up taking a sharp curve too fast, an accident report by Beaver states.

He lost control of his vehicle, causing it go off and then back onto the road. It then spun several times before hitting the pole and coming to rest in a nearby ditch.

Beaver reported smelling alcohol on Buttz’s breath and that his eyes were red and glossy. Buttz said he had just left work where he had drunk three pints of beer along with beer samples.

Beaver was not yet certified in field sobriety, so she was advised by Nashville Police Chief Ben Seastrom to administer a portable breath test, which showed Buttz was driving over the legal limit. Beaver detained Buttz and took him to the Brown County jail, according to the report.

Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Nick Briles administered the field sobriety test at the jail. Buttz passed two of the three, the report said.

A portable breath test showed Buttz’s blood-alcohol content at 0.10. He was arrested and booked into the jail.

Buttz was formally charged on Oct. 21.

His vehicle was towed from the scene due. Buttz was not injured and refused treatment by EMS.