Shots fired between vehicles lead to drug arrest
HAMBLEN TWP. — A report of a car stopped in a road led to two people shooting at one another and a drug arrest last Saturday night on Sweetwater Trail.
Just before 8 p.m. Feb. 27, a report came into dispatch about a crash where shots were fired, according to a probable-cause affidavit written by Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Austin Schonfeld. The caller reported that shots had been fired between two vehicles.
Nine officers, Hamblen Township Fire Department and an ambulance responded to the scene in the 7000 block of Sweetwater Trail.
The caller, with his son driving, was behind the first car. The son told police that he came upon the car stopped in the middle of the road and slammed on his brakes. He left his vehicle and checked on the driver who was slumped over the center console, then went back to his own car and had his father dial 911.
Then, they heard a loud bang and saw a flash come from the car in front of them, leading them to think they were being shot at, the police report says.
The son pulled out a handgun and fired a single shot through his windshield, the report said. Then, the car in front of them went into reverse and came to rest in a ditch.
Deputy Jeff Brahaum found one person in the car that had stopped and crashed: Allen Beasley, 31, of New Ross. Beasley was “hunkered down in the back seat” and would not respond to the officer’s commands, the police report said.
When Schonfeld got there, Beasley was sitting behind the driver’s seat with his head down, the report said. He was told to show the officers his hands but he did not respond. Brahaum removed a spare tire from the back seat that Beasley had been resting against and he “woke up,” becoming very erratic and claiming he had been jumped and then thrown into the back seat, the police report said.
Beasley was unable to form a coherent substance and wasn’t wearing any shoes, and officers recognized his behavior as being consistent with drug use, the report said. He continued to tell officers that other specific people were in the area, but there was no sign of anyone else having been in the vehicle. He later told an officer that he had taken “molly,” the report said.
A K9 officer was deployed to try to track anyone who may have run from the vehicle, but the dog took officers to Beasley, who had been placed in a patrol car, the report said.
The son in the other car was shown a photo of Beasley and he said that’s the person he’d seen in the front seat when he first approached the car.
A deputy followed the ambulance to Johnson Memorial Hospital to get a blood sample. While there, Beasley told an officer that he had taken suboxone. He found a capped syringe inside Beasley’s sweatshirt pocket, the report said.
Beasley was booked into jail on preliminary charges of operating while intoxicated — endangerment, a Class A misdemeanor; reckless driving, a Class C misdemeanor; criminal recklessness, a Level 6 felony; and possession of a syringe, a Level 6 felony. However, the criminal recklessness charge was not among his formal charges when they were filed on March 1.
Disregard of light results in dealing charge
Two people from North Vernon have been charged with misdemeanors, including one for dealing marijuana, in Brown County following a traffic stop in Nashville Dec. 28.
Nashville Police Patrolman Cody Poynter stopped a vehicle driven by Tennessee Henry, 19, after Poynter reported seeing Henry turn right on a red light at the intersection of Main and Van Buren streets.
Poynter reported smelling a strong odor of marijuana in the vehicle. Henry told Poynter that he, his passenger, Desiree Burton, 19, of North Vernon, and a juvenile were on their way to dinner in Bloomington, the affidavit states.
When asked about marijuana in the vehicle, Henry said there were a “couple of grams” inside his center console. Poynter reported finding marijuana in the center console along with two glass smoking pipes, rolling papers, a metal tray with residue on it and liquid marijuana “dabs,” the probable cause affidavit states.
A plastic grocery bag in the backseat had several plastic bags with marijuana inside. Inside a backpack in the backseat, Poynter reported finding a large bag of marijuana labeled “Purple Punch” along with two more plastic bags containing marijuana, according to the affidavit.
Poynter also reported finding two large vacuum-sealed bags with marijuana wax, a large quantity of empty plastic bags and a scale.
Inside Burton’s purse, Poynter reported finding a glass tube with several marijuana cigarettes inside.
When asked if he sold marijuana, Henry said he “sells a little,” according to the affidavit. He told police everything in the car was his. Burton said the marijuana cigarettes found in her purse were hers, the police report said.
Henry was cited for the traffic violation. He received a summons for dealing in marijuana, possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia.
Burton received a summons for possession of marijuana. Everyone was released from the scene.
At the Nashville Police Department, Poynter weighed the marijuana and found Henry was in possession of 22 ounces of marijuana along with 12 ounces of marijuana wax, his report said.
On Feb. 9, Henry was charged with dealing in marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor; possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor; and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.
Failure to use lights results in OWI charges
A 59-year-old Brown County woman faces multiple misdemeanors after she was found to be driving with more than three times the legal amount of alcohol in her system after being stopped for unsafe turning and not using headlights.
Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Stargell stopped Barbara Taylor just before 11 p.m. in the 500 block of State Road 46 East.
He reported smelling alcohol on Taylor, seeing alcoholic beverage containers in her vehicle, and that her speech was slurred, her eyes were red and watery, her manual dexterity was poor and her balance was unsteady, the affidavit states. She also had an “abusive attitude.”
She refused a chemical test and a warrant was obtained for her blood. The results showed her blood-alcohol content was 0.28 at the time of the stop, more than three times the legal limit.
On Feb. 4, Taylor was formally charged with three misdemeanors for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and a Class A misdemeanor for resisting law enforcement.
Stop results in misdemeanor charges
Two Brown County women face misdemeanor charges for possession of marijuana and paraphernalia following a traffic stop on New Year’s Day.
Brown County sheriff’s deputies Jacob Gibson and Dan Acres stopped the vehicle that 19-year-old Karlie Loveday and 21-year-old Samantha Neff were in.
After smelling marijuana in the vehicle, Gibson asked everyone to exit. When Gibson told the women he was going to search the vehicle, Loveday said she had a glass pipe in the pouch behind the driver’s seat. Neff said the pipe with marijuana inside belonged to her, according to Gibson’s incident narrative.
While Gibson was speaking to Loveday and Neff, Acres found an orange bag with more marijuana and paraphernalia in the car. Both Neff and Loveday said the grinder, clear pipe and a plastic bag with marijuana in it that were in the orange bag belonged to both of them, the narrative states.
Both women were issued a summons and released from the scene.
On Feb. 3, both were charged with possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia, which are misdemeanors.
Charges filed after stop for vehicle all over road
Charges have been formally filed against a 58-year-old Indianapolis man after chemical test results showed he was driving with nearly three times the amount of legal alcohol in his system when he was stopped by police last October.
Robert Starrett was charged with two misdemeanors on Feb. 1 for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
On Oct. 11, Starrett was stopped by Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Austin Schonfeld after dispatch received a report of a vehicle driving all over the road, a probable cause affidavit states.
Schonfeld reported smelling alcohol on Starrett, that his speech was slurred, his eyes were bloodshot and his balance was poor as Starrett reportedly stumbled during the traffic stop.
Schonfeld also noted that Starrett’s pants were wet. He failed three filed sobriety tests. A portable breath test showed his blood alcohol content to be 0.26.
Starrett also submitted to a chemical test. On Jan. 25, those results returned and showed Starrett’s BAC was 0.22, police said.
Speeding stop results in possession charges
A 19-year-old Brown County man faces two charges for possession of marijuana and paraphernalia after he was stopped for driving 30 mph over the speed limit on Dec. 26.
Parker Scott was stopped by Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Jacob Gibson after Gibson clocked him driving 85 mph in a 55 mph zone. During the stop, Gibson reported smelling marijuana and had all three occupants exit the vehicle, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Gibson also reported seeing what he believed to be marijuana wax in the center console cup holder, along with smoking devices in the driver’s door and driver’s side backseat door. Gibson reported finding several glass pipes throughout the car and center console, according to the affidavit.
Scott told police that all of the pipes and marijuana belonged to him. A 15-year-old passenger was cited for being a minor in possession of a pack of cigarettes. Scott was issued a summons for his possession charges. Formal misdemeanor charges were filed on Feb. 1.
Driver runs red light, passenger charged
A traffic stop for running a red light on Dec. 30 resulted in a 19-year-old Martinsville woman being charged with two possession misdemeanors.
Nashville Police Patrolman Cody Poynter stopped the vehicle after seeing drive through a red light near CVS pharmacy. When Poynter told the driver he could smell marijuana in the car, the driver said there was a pipe in the car.
Patrolman Billy Bryant reported finding a blue glass smoking pipe on the passenger side and part of a marijuana cigarette in passenger Audra Wilson’s wallet, the probable cause affidavit states.
Wilson told police that the marijuana and pipe belonged to her. She was issued a summons and the driver received a warning for running the red light before they were released from the scene.
Formal misdemeanor charges were filed against Wilson on Feb. 9 for possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.
Charges filed after driver slides into ditch
A 37-year-old Bloomington man slid into a ditch on Green Valley Road on Feb. 11 and police discovered he was driving on a suspended license with marijuana on him, according to court paperwork.
Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Stargell reported in a probable cause affidavit that James Bowlen slid into a ditch in the 4000 block of Green Valley Road. Stargell found the vehicle five to 10 feet off the road and reported that two people were trying to pull it out.
Bowlen told Stargell he did not have an identification card and that he slid off the snow-covered road while heading back to Bloomington after taking a friend home.
Dispatch reported that Bowlen was driving with a suspended license. He was placed under arrest because he also had an active warrant out of Monroe County, Stargell reported in the affidavit.
While searching Bowlen, Stargell reported finding a baggie in his coat pocket with marijuana inside.
He was taken to the Brown County jail.
Reckless driving leads to possession charge
A misdemeanor charge has been filed against a 61-year-old Brown County man for possession of marijuana after he was stopped for driving recklessly on Jan. 29.
Nashville Police Patrolman Cody Poynter stopped Daniel Majors after he reported seeing Majors cross the center line twice and not be able to maintain his speed, his report said.
During the stop, Poynter reported smelling marijuana. When Majors exited the vehicle his balance was unsteady and he had to hold himself against the vehicle, Poynter reported.
When asked if anything was illegal in his car, Majors said there was marijuana in the center console. Poynter found it, his report said.
Majors showed signs of impairment during three field sobriety tests, but a portable breath test showed his blood-alcohol content to be 0. Majors initially consented to a blood draw, but after being taken to the hospital, he declined to give consent, the affidavit states. Poynter said he was unable to get a warrant for the blood draw. Once Majors was cleared by hospital staff, he was taken to the Brown County jail.
On Feb. 1, he was charged with a Class B misdemeanor for possession of marijuana.
Stop for taillight out results in charge
A 19-year-old Columbus woman has been charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession after she was stopped by police for having a non-working taillight on her way home from work Jan. 17.
Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Nicholson Briles stopped Austan Cheever in the 7500 block of State Road 46 East. Cheever told Briles she had ordered a new taillight, but it had not been delivered yet and that she was on her way home from work in Bloomington, the affidavit states.
Briles reported smelling marijuana while speaking with Cheevers. She told Briles she had smoked marijuana on her way home and she had burnt ends of rolling papers in the car. When Briles told Cheevers he had probable cause to search her vehicle, she gave him a grinder with marijuana inside, the police report said.
Cheevers was issued a summons and released from the scene. She was charged with a Class B misdemeanor on Feb. 11.
Stop for speeding leads to misdemeanor
Nashville Police Patrolman Billy Bryant stopped a vehicle driving 15 mph over the speed limit on New Year’s Day and issued a summons to the driver for possession of marijuana.
The stop happened just after midnight Jan. 1 on State Road 135 South after Bryant clocked the driver, Luke Hardin, 24, of Grandview Road, driving 70 mph in a 55 mph zone.
Bryant reported smelling alcohol in Hardin’s vehicle. Hardin told police he had one drink, then later said he had three beers before going to Bloomington, then another drink in Bloomington. Bryant gave Hardin a preliminary breath test, which showed his blood-alcohol content to be 0.09, just over the legal limit of 0.08.
Hardin gave police consent to search his vehicle. When asked if there was anything illegal, Hardin gave Bryant a vape pen with marijuana oil inside, which Bryant confiscated.
Hardin passed all three field sobriety tests. He was picked up by a licensed driver. He was charged on Feb. 9 with possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor.
Officers increasing patrols looking for impaired driving
The Brown County Sheriff’s Department will be increasing patrols to look for impaired and dangerous driving until March 21.
The overtime patrols are part of a statewide enforcement campaign and are funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through an Indiana Criminal Justice Institute grant, according to a press release from the sheriff’s department.
“Dangerous and impaired driving continues to be a problem, especially around high-risk events like St. Patrick’s Day and the NCAA tournament,” Sheriff Scott Southerland said.
“However you celebrate this year, do so responsibly. Slow down, buckle up and if you, don’t drive. It’s that simple.”
According to the NHTSA, drunk driving crashes claim more than 10,000 lives per year in the United States.
Dangerous driving includes speeding, tailgating and disregarding traffic signals. It is illegal to drive with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 or more.
To avoid criminal charges and legal fees, the sheriff’s department recommends drivers follow these steps: Slow down and follow speed limits; never drive impaired; do not tailgate or drive aggressively; put down phones while driving; and wear your seat belt.
