Police: Woman threatened neighbor, shot rifle near home
HAMBLEN TWP. — Police say an intoxicated 46-year-old Brown County woman shot a rifle near her neighbor’s home as a way to threaten him after believing illegal drug dealing activity was taking place there.
Holly Quackenbush was charged on Sept. 21 with criminal recklessness, a Level 6 felony.
The charges stem from when police were first called to Birch Drive for a drug investigation. Quackenbush told police she was concerned about activity at one of her neighbors’ homes and reported seeing a dark-colored vehicle leaving the home after only being there for a short time, says a probable cause affidavit by Indiana State Police Trooper Matt Hatchett.
Hatchett was on his way to meet with Quackenbush when a call came into the Brown County Sheriff’s Department dispatch from Quackenbush’s neighbor, who said that Quackenbush and her husband were outside shooting an AR-15-type firearm in quick succession to intimidate him. He also said they were threatening to shoot him and were yelling obscenities at him, the affidavit states.
Officers reported seeing no illegal drug activity while talking with the neighbor Quackenbush had suspected. The neighbor said he heard between eight and 10 rifle gunshots and that he did not want any trouble, but that he wanted to be left alone with his wife and children, according to the affidavit.
Before police arrived, the neighbor said he was too afraid to leave his garage and go to his house because of Quackenbush and her husband. He said the dark-colored vehicle his neighbors reported seeing leaving his home was his brother picking up his children.
The officers escorted the man to his home.
Police then went to see Quackenbush and her husband. Hatchett reported that both of them were intoxicated. Quackenbush continued to say her neighbor was selling drugs and she wanted him out of her neighborhood. Both of them denied shooting any firearms.
The officers told the couple they would stay in the neighborhood to monitor the situation. Less than an hour later, the officers reported hearing a gunshot from Birch Drive. After pulling up to the entrance of Birch Drive, Hatchett reported seeing Quackenbush yelling on her porch and go inside the home as he exited his vehicle, the affidavit states.
Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Keith Lawson was working with Hatchett. He reported hearing Quackenbush yell that the shot was for her neighbor, according to the affidavit.
When officers knocked on the home’s door, Quackenbush would not come to the door despite the officers giving commands for her to do so. The couple eventually came to the porch to talk to police.
Quackenbush told police they were “making things up” when asking about the shot they heard and hearing her yell.
Hatchett noticed multiple shell casings lying on the deck and in the garden next to the deck. Police collected a total of 10 used casings from the porch, his report said.
When asked if they had an AR-15 rifle in the home, the husband led police inside and Hatchett saw the rifle on the kitchen island. Next to it was a loaded magazine with 30 rounds, and a second magazine with only five rounds left inside.
Hatchett noted the chamber of the rifle was still warm, like it had been recently fired. The couple then became “belligerent” with officers. They said several times that they shoot at the home, but had not done so that night, according to the affidavit.
Due to Quackenbush’s level of intoxication, her verbal threats to her neighbor, the close proximity of the homes and the neighbor being afraid to leave his garage due to Quackenbush’s actions, she was arrested, the police report said.
A portable breath test showed her blood-alcohol content to be 0.20, more than twice the legal standard for intoxication.
Report of disturbance results in felony charges
STORY — An 18-year-old Indianapolis man faces two felony charges in Brown County after police responded to a report of a disturbance at the Story Inn and found him to be in possession of cocaine and syringes.
Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Jacob Gibson responded to the disturbance on Aug. 13. He spoke with a man at the front desk who said he was staying there in the Doc Story house and that his 18-year-old son, Stephan Nestel, had locked himself in the bathroom, an incident narrative states.
Gibson went to the house and asked Nestel to open the bathroom door so that he could check on him. Gibson had to ask several times before Nestel opened the door. He noted that Nestel seemed very sluggish and drowsy and this pupils were dilated to the point he could barely see any color in his eyes, according to the narrative.
Nestel told Gibson he is addicted to heroin, but was trying to get help. He admitted to using in the bathroom and then flushing the foil in the toilet.
He told police that he locked himself in the bathroom because he was upset with his dad. He said the thought they were going somewhere else, but he fell asleep in the car and woke up in Story. After checking in, he locked himself in the restroom, the narrative states.
When asked if he had anything else on him, Nestel pulled a syringe cap out of his pocket. He told police he shot up cocaine.
His father said he had reserved spot in rehab for his son to check in the next day and that they had come there to get him away from the city and start sobering up, the narrative states.
With the father’s permission, police searched the home. Under the blankets on a bed, they reported finding a pile of syringes rubber-banded together and a plastic case with a white substance inside.
Nestel admitted the drug was six grams of cocaine. He said he usually snorts it, but will also shoot it up.
Because Nestel had a spot in rehab, he was issued a summons instead of going to jail. But if he failed to go to rehab, a warrant would be issued for his arrest, the officer explained.
On Sept. 15, Nestel was charged in Brown Circuit Court with possession of cocaine, a Level 6 felony, and unlawful possession of a syringe, a Level 6 felony.
Gosport woman arrested for battery at campground
GNAW BONE — Police arrested a 38-year-old Gosport woman after witnesses reported seeing her physically abuse a man while staying at a campground in Brown County.
On Sept. 19, police were dispatched to the Friends O’Mine Campground for a report of two people fighting and that the fight was becoming physical. An off-duty police officer was able to separate the two by the time other officers arrived, according to a probable cause affidavit by Brown Count Sheriff’s Deputy Nicholson Briles.
Briles reported that the victim and April Fishel were both intoxicated. Officers found Fishel in a cabin crying, saying she was upset with the victim. Since the victim and Fishel both had nowhere else to stay that night, officers at the scene decided that if there was evidence a battery occurred, one of them would go to the jail, Briles reported.
Fishel denied pushing the victim, but witnesses at the scene reported seeing Fishel yell and push him after throwing things at him and into a nearby pond, the affidavit states.
A child witnessed the altercation. A woman from a neighboring campsite was able to take the child to play with a dog in a camper nearby. Fishel and the victim went into a cabin before returning to the porch, where Fishel allegedly pushed the victim off the porch, causing him to land on his back on top of a cooler.
At that point, witnesses were able to separate the two and the police were called. Briles did not see injuries on the victim and he was not complaining of pain, the report said.
Fishel was given a portable breath test and her blood alcohol content was 0.19, which twice the legal limit for intoxication. She was arrested. On Sept. 21, she was charged with domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor, and disorderly conduct, a Class B misdemeanor.
Man faces felony, misdemeanors
A 59-year-old Brown County man was arrested Sept. 12 after he admitted to police he broke into a home after getting into a fight with the woman who lives there and being asked to leave.
The break-in was reported at a home on West Gould Street just before 2 a.m., according to a probable cause affidavit by Nashville Patrolman Davis Huynh.
Huynh and Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Colton Magner reported seeing broken glass on the floor and the door broken in. After announcing their presence and entering, the officers reported seeing glass inside the entry way and blood spots on the floor, the affidavit states.
Officers were able to separate David Wert and the caller, who were in a bathroom together when police arrived. The woman living there said that the two had argued and that Wert was drunk. He refused to leave, so she had him go outside and smoke a cigarette, then locked him out. Wert then broke the glass on the door to get inside, which cut his hands and arm. The woman called 911 because she said she was afraid of him.
Wert admitted to breaking in after he was locked out following the argument because he had belongings inside he needed to get, according to the affidavit.
On Sept. 14, Wert was charged with residential entry, a Level 6 felony; disorderly conduct, Class B misdemeanor; and criminal mischief, Class B misdemeanor.
