Man faces felonies for fleeing police on sport bike

A 29-year-old Seymour man faces felonies and misdemeanors in Brown County after police say he fled from them on a sport bike, then on foot after he was caught running a red light and speeding May 4.

At around 11 p.m., Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Dan Acres was watching traffic in the construction zone at State Road 46 East and Parkview Road when he saw a sport bike and a Jeep behind it run the light, he reported.

Acres decided to stop the sport bike since it had been revving its throttle and took off at an accelerated speed, his report said. Acres caught up with the bike and decided to pull it over at the intersection of State Road 46 East and 135 South, but the driver, Luke Newkirk, ignored Acres’ lights.

The officer turned his sirens on briefly. Newkirk then pulled to the right side of the eastbound lane and looked back at Acres before doing a complete U-turn in the middle of the highway and turning westbound. Acres wrote that at that point, Newkirk was driving at nearly 100 mph heading back toward the Circle K gas station, the affidavit states.

He then attempted to slow and turn north onto Salt Creek Road, but could not slow down in time to make the turn. Instead Newkirk reportedly bolted off the road into the gas station’s lawn and past the fuel pumps before going around the north side of the building and back on Salt Creek Road.

Acres decided to keep a distance from the bike while still being able to see the rear light. Newkirk went off the road and through a grassy area twice during the pursuit, the report said. As the two continued down Salt Creek Road, Acres continued to keep space between them and slow his speed due to a blind curve ahead, the affidavit states.

At that point, Acres reported that the light made it look like bike was lying on the ground. The driver had been ejected from the motorcycle, and Acres requested EMS. However, Newkirk was not there; he had left behind one shoe, the report said.

Other officers arrived on scene. Cpt. Mike Moore and Acres did a sweep of the area, but could not see Newkirk. Deputy Austin Schonfeld arrived with K9 Kronin and the dog was able to find Newkirk on an embankment on the east side of the road.

Newkirk was placed in handcuffs and searched. Police reported finding a broken glass pipe is his right front pocket that officers believed to have been used to ingest methamphetamine.

After checking his identification, dispatch discovered Newkirk was also a habitual traffic violator for a lifetime. He declined to speak to officers or to do any chemical tests.

He was checked by EMS, then taken to Columbus Regional Hospital where his blood was drawn and he was treated for his injuries. According to the accident report, Newkirk had an abrasion on his knee/lower leg/foot area. He was then taken to the Brown County jail.

On May 7, Newkirk was charged with operating a motor vehicle after forfeiture of license for life, a Level 5 felony; resisting law enforcement, a Level 6 felony; operating a vehicle while intoxicated — endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor; and operating a vehicle with a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance or its metabolite in the body, a Class C misdemeanor.

Death at motel under investigation

BELMONT — On May 1, police and Brown County Coroner Piper responded to the Hickory Shades Motel after the manager there reported finding a deceased a 23-year-old man from Bloomington in one of the hotel rooms.

The cause of death is not yet known. on May 8, Piper said he was waiting on the results of a toxicology test.

Three injured in crash on 135 North

Three people were injured in a two-vehicle crash on State Road 135 North on May 2.

The crash was reported just after 5 p.m. near Turning Tree Drive. Todd Norman, 35, of Russellville, told police he was driving north, going through a left curve when a vehicle going south driven by 70-year-old David Crooke of Martinsville went left of center.

Crooke’s vehicle went into the northbound lane, where it sideswiped Norman’s motorcycle, according to an accident report by Sgt. Chad Williams with the Brown County Sheriff’s Department.

Both Norman and his passenger, Kyla Norman, 33, of Russellville, were struck in the lower left leg by Crooke’s vehicle.

Crooke told Deputy Mike Horn that he was driving south and going into a right curve when he drifted into the northbound lane, where he hit Norman’s vehicle, the report states.

Crooke and Kyla Norman were both taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for further treatment for their injuries. Both reportedly had a fractured/dislocated knee/lower leg/foot, according to the report.

Todd Norman had pain in his knee/lower leg/foot area, but refused treatment at the scene by EMS.

Crooke’s vehicle was towed from the scene. It was marked “unknown” on the report if Crooke was wearing a seat belt. Todd Norman was not wearing a helmet, but Kyla Norman was, the report said.

Woman charged for public intoxication, nudity

Police arrested a naked and intoxicated 26-year-old Brown County woman on Mt. Liberty Road May 2 after she reportedly broke a window out of a relative’s home.

Officers reported finding Kayla Dilk naked and running in the road. Dilk reportedly jumped out from behind a nearby bridge railing, ran past one officer’s vehicle and stopped in front of the second officer’s vehicle, the report says. Dilk was detained by officers while they spoke with others on the property.

A relative of Dilk’s said that her behavior had been out of control over several days, the affidavit states.

The relative and her boyfriend tried getting Dilk to go to see a doctor in Bloomington, but while they were trying to convince her to get help, Dilk began to “act crazy,” according to the affidavit.

Another man who was with Dilk at that time began acting belligerent at the two who were trying to get Dilk help, saying he would beat them up, the report said. The relative said the man fled when police were called.

Dilk then started hitting another relative’s home with a piece of wooden trim, putting a hole in the side and busting out a window, the affidavit states. She also beat the mailbox until it broke. Around this time, Dilk stripped her clothes off and started running around until officers arrived, the report said.

Officers were unable to find the man with Dilk who had fled before police arrived.

Dilk was given a portable breath test which showed her blood-alcohol content at 0.11, more than the legal limit of 0.08. She was arrested and taken to the Brown County jail, and Dilk and the man who was with her were trespassed from the property.

On May 4, she was charged with criminal mischief, a Class A misdemeanor; public intoxication, a Class B misdemeanor; and public nudity, a Class C misdemeanor.

Two face multiple charges after traffic stop

A man and woman face multiple charges after police stopped a vehicle they were in for a registration violation on April 22.

Cody Reeves, 25, of Grandma Barnes Road, and Mandy Smith, 40, of Morgan County were stopped just after 11 p.m. in the 6100 block of State Road 135 North.

Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Nick Briles conducted field sobriety tests on Smith. A breath test showed her blood-alcohol content to be 0.21, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08, according to a probable cause affidavit by Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Stargell.

While police were administering the tests on Smith, Reeves began yelling from the passenger seat and exited the vehicle, causing the officers to stop their OWI investigation on Smith and control him, the affidavit states.

Reeves finally returned to the vehicle after being asked multiple times to do so. After the OWI investigation, officers allowed Smith to speak with Reeves to make arrangements for the car and getting him a ride home, according to the affidavit. Reeves threatened the officers, the report said.

Reeves told police he had to go to the bathroom, but Stargell told him he was not getting out of the car, and Briles told him to use an empty bottle in the vehicle. He ended up urinating on himself, and he began yelling at the officers again, the report said.

He then continued to try and stand in the road after officers told him to stop, while cursing the officers, clenching his fists and cracking his knuckles and telling the officers he wanted to hit someone. He also told officers at the scene he knew who their families were, according to the affidavit.

Reeves told the officers he had spent time in prison and that he would see them “on the outside.” He tried walking away, but was told he would be arrested for public intoxication if he did not stop and call a ride.

A wrecker was called to the scene since Reeves refused to have someone come pick him up. He kept calling the dispatchers instead, the report said.

When the tow truck arrived, Reeves threatened the driver and stood between the wrecker and vehicle, not moving when asked. He finally did move to the side after Stargell yelled at him, the affidavit states.

Once the vehicle was gone, Reeves was arrested. When Stargell began to cuff Reeves’ right wrist, he jerked away. He was placed face-down in the gravel so officers could finish cuffing him.

After he was searched, Reeves apologized to the officers. A portable breath test at the jail showed his blood-alcohol content to be 0.11.

When Sgt. Chad Williams said Reeves had made a comment on the way to the jail about harming himself, Reeves became upset again and refused to sit down in the book-in area. He continued to resist as officers tried to place him in a restraint chair. He also pinned Stargell’s arm between his leg and the metal arm of the chair while Stargell tried to get his leg restrained, the affidavit states.

During this incident, Nashville Police Officer Cody Poynter injured his knee and could not move it. Reeves had a bloody nose, but had no other visible injuries, according to the affidavit.

Reeves was put in a padded cell. Poynter went to Johnson Memorial Hospital to have his knee looked at. When officers went back into the cell to loosen Reeves’ restraints, he said he was done fighting and that he knew he messed up.

On April 24, Reeves was charged with resisting law enforcement, a Level 6 felony; intimidation, a Level 6 felony; disorderly conduct, a Class B misdemeanor; and public intoxication, a Class B misdemeanor.

Smith was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated with an ACE of 0.15 or more, a Class A misdemeanor; operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor; possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor; and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.

Man charged for sharing explicit video

A 25-year-old Nashville man has been charged in two separate cases after police say he shared an explicit video without permission and violated a restraining order.

On April 23, Blake Hurt of West Gould Street was charged with invasion of privacy, a Level 6 felony, in one case. He was also charged with distribution of an intimate image, a Class A misdemeanor, and harassment, a Class B misdemeanor, on April 23 in a separate case.

On March 18, police took a report from a family whom Hurt was harassing, according to a probable cause affidavit by Indiana State Police Trooper Chris Griggs. He took the case due a conflict of interest in the Brown County Sheriff’s Department.

Griggs was told that Hurt had sent two videos over Facebook Messenger showing himself and another person engaging in intercourse. The family told police that they continue to block Hurt’s number, but he uses text messaging apps to contact them.

Griggs confirmed with the woman in the video that she did not give consent for the two videos to be sent to anyone else.

After Griggs contacted Hurt to set up a time for them to meet, and Hurt refused, he contacted the family again. He denied sending the messages. The family recorded that conversation for police. He continued to call members of the family names and asked them not to call the police again, according to the affidavit.

On March 30, Griggs spoke with the victim again who said Hurt had been sending her messages on Facebook trying to talk to her, violating a protective order.

Hurt was charged with a Level 6 felony for violating a protective order. The charge was elevated to a felony from a misdemeanor because Hurt had previously been charged twice for violating the order.