Franklin man faces felony for attempted abduction

A 27-year-old Franklin man faces a felony in Brown County after police say he attempted to abduct a woman and threatened to kill her as he was returning her to her vehicle.

On Jan. 9, David Abbott was charged with criminal confinement, a Level 6 felony.

On Dec. 18, Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Nicholson Briles responded to the Law Enforcement Center to meet with a woman who said she had been abducted a few days prior by Abbott, according to a probable cause affidavit filed Jan. 9.

The woman said she met Abbott for dinner on Dec. 16. She told police she left her vehicle at Subway and that Abbott drove them to Bloomington. She said Abbott understood that after dinner, he was supposed to drop her off back at her vehicle.

She told police Abbott was fine during dinner, but that on the way back to Nashville, he asked her if they could drive around for awhile and talk. She told Abbott that was OK, but after driving around for a few minutes, she asked to be taken back to her vehicle, the affidavit states.

When Abbott came to the Main/Van Buren intersection in town, he turned north on Van Buren instead of south toward Subway. Abbott told the woman was going to stay the night with him in Franklin, and she told him she did not want to do that, the report said.

Abbott continued driving north on State Road 135 North and refused to let the woman out of the car. She said she thought about calling 911, but was afraid for her safety and what Abbott might do, the affidavit states.

At the stop sign in Morgantown, the woman tried to exit the vehicle, but Abbott accelerated. Abbott eventually turned the vehicle around as the woman continued to plead with him, according to the affidavit.

As he was driving south toward Nashville from Morgantown, the woman reported he was driving 70 to 80 MPH. When she asked him to slow down, he increased his speed to between 90 and 100 MPH. He also began swerving. She became afraid for her life and begged him to stop, the report said.

She told police that Abbott began making comments about crashing the vehicle and killing them both. The engine eventually blew, causing Abbott to pull into a parking lot in the 5700 block of 135 North.

The woman was able to walk to the Dollar General in Bean Blossom, in the 5000 block of 135 North, to call for for someone to pick her up.

Later that night, Abbott contacted the victim via Facebook Messenger. He apologized for his actions and admitted to not taking her back to her car when she asked him to do so, the affidavit states.

Police advised her to get a protective order.

Off-duty officer stops man swerving on 135 South

VAN BUREN TWP. — A Seymour man has been charged four months after he was pulled over in Brown County for operating while intoxicated.

Brown County reserve officer Dan Acres stopped Chester Walls, 49, on State Road 135 South on Sept. 7 after dispatch received a report of an intoxicated driver.

Acres reported seeing Walls driving in the opposite lane of traffic and running off the road. The vehicle stopped, so Acres pulled up next to it to ask if the driver was OK. Walls flipped Acres off and added an expletive, then put his car in drive and sped off, the report said.

Acres told dispatch what had happened and asked for help. Walls’ silver Chrysler was all over the road, Acres wrote. Acres had just ended his shift, so he was in his personal truck. He was able to get around Walls and block the road, the report said.

Acres got out of his truck and told Walls to step out, and he did. He handcuffed him and asked for his identification, and Walls told the officer that it was in his car and Acres could get it, the report said.

In the car, Acres noticed an empty bottle of Fireball in the passenger seat, the report said.

Deputy William Pool arrived on scene and told Walls that he’d be taking him to Van Buren Elementary to do some tests. Walls began cussing at the officer, then pleaded to just let him walk home, the report said. He told the officer he had only had five drinks at a Nashville bar.

Officers had to end the field sobriety tests for Walls’ safety, as he nearly fell several times, the report said. Pool loaded him into his police vehicle to go to the jail for a breath test. Walls threatened to urinate in the back of the car, Pool wrote.

He was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for a blood draw. The results were not included in the police report.

On Jan. 13, Walls was officially charged with two Class A misdemeanors and one Class C misdemeanor for operating while intoxicated.