Man charged with obstruction of justice in criminal case
A 28-year-old Brown County man has now been charged with obstruction of justice in his own criminal case less than a month after his sister was charged with the same felony for her involvement.
Tiffany Franks was charged with a Level 6 felony on June 14 for obstruction of justice after police found evidence she attempted to intimidate a witness in her brother Ryne Franks’ criminal case. Ryne Franks was charged July 13 with the same Level 6 felony for his role.
While listening to jail calls, Det. Paul Henderson learned in March that Tiffany and Ryne had planned to intimidate a witness to Ryne’s Level 2 felony case for dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death.
On March 4, Ryne called Tiffany just after 8:30 p.m. to report where the witness and his girlfriend were staying and suggest that Tiffany should “smack them around and kick them out.” Tiffany and her boyfriend said that they would head over that evening, the probable cause affidavit states. Ryne then tells Tiffany to “smoke them in the head … metaphorically” and to “at least call him out.”
Ryne told her that an inmate in the jail owns the house the witness and his girlfriend were staying in. Ryne said he would talk to that inmate about hanging out with people who are testifying against him, the police report said.
Tiffany told her brother that her boyfriend “just wants to beat someone up” and laughed. Ryne said that he would check back in with them later and emphasized again he wanted them to go over to intimidate the witness and possibly harm him. Tiffany replied, “This is going to be fun,” the report said.
Tiffany reported back just after 11 p.m. that she went over with several men to kick the witness and his girlfriend out. “He might have reconsidered what he was going to say for sure,” she said with a laugh, according to the affidavit. Tiffany said she locked the two out of the house and that the witness was “scared to death.”
The next morning, Ryne called Tiffany again to tell her the homeowner thanked her for getting the two out of his house.
Ryne was charged last July with dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death, a Level 2 felony, and dealing in a narcotic drug, a Level 5 felony. Henderson began an investigation into Franks after a fatal overdose that occurred May 18, 2020, in Helmsburg.
Police: Woman left drugs, paraphernalia in hotel room
Felony and misdemeanor charges have been filed against a 34-year-old Edinburgh woman after an Indiana Conservation Officer reported finding a bag with drugs and paraphernalia inside a hotel room.
ICO Joseph Tenbarge served a search warrant on a room in the Abe Martin Lodge on June 26. Stephanie Spicer had rented the room, but had checked out so no one was in the room, Tenbarge reported in a probable cause affidavit.
Inside, he reported finding a pink cosmetic bag on the bed closest to the window containing the following: A plastic bag with a white substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine; a plastic container with a white substance that field-tested positive for meth; a container with a glass pipe that had meth residue; two credit cards with meth residue; one plastic straw with meth residue; a glass plate with meth residue; a sock that had a glass pipe with meth residue inside; another glass pipe with meth residue; a butane lighter; three cleaning brushes; $1 bill; a metal cleaning rod; and a pair of tweezers with meth residue on them.
On July 2, Tenbarge went to Spicer’s home in Edinburgh to interview her. She said the bag and everything inside belonged to her, the police report said. She was then arrested on a warrant out of Bartholomew County. She was formally charged in Brown County on July 26 with possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony, and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.
Moped driver involved in crash charged with felony
VAN BUREN TWP. — A 50-year-old Indianapolis man has been charged with a Level 5 felony for driving after permanently losing his license.
Calvin Byrd was charged July 26 with operating a motor vehicle after forfeiture of licensing for life, a Level 5 felony. Police responded to a crash on July 8 after Byrd crashed his moped into a tree while driving on Christianburg Road.
Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Nicholson Briles responded near Hamilton Creek Road around 7 p.m. A volunteer with the Southern Brown Volunteer Fire Department was helping Byrd. A bystander told Briles she was driving north on Christianburg and saw Byrd lying under his moped, so she stopped to help him and call 911, according to the accident report.
Briles reported that Byrd was confused and slightly disoriented when speaking with police about what happened.
The bystander told Briles that Byrd had told her he was driving north when he came around a curve and a car flashed their lights at him, causing him to swerve off the road. Byrd then struck a tree, which ejected him from the moped. He then slid on the ground and stopped under a fence with his moped on top of him.
He was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for a head injury and further evaluation. He was not wearing a helmet. The moped was towed.
Briles had dispatch run Byrd’s information to try to find an Indiana identification card and discovered that he had active warrants out of Shelby County. He was also a habitual traffic violator for life with no valid driver’s license or endorsement to drive the moped, the police report said.
Man fled officer trying to stop him for driving
A 55-year-old Columbus man has been charged with two Level 6 felonies after he fled from a Brown County sheriff’s deputy who was trying to stop him for driving without a license, a police report says.
On July 2, Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Chad Williams was stationed on Weddle Lane facing Greasy Creek Road running a radar when he saw a vehicle go by with Jeffrey Trosky in the driver’s seat. Williams knew he had a suspended driver’s license, a probable cause affidavit states.
Trosky’s vehicle turned onto Bear Wallow Hill Road and Williams attempted to stop him, but Trosky held a finger out of the window and continued on, the affidavit states.
Williams called for backup as he continued north on Bear Wallow Hill Road driving 40 to 45 mph. The vehicle continued up to Gatesville Road before turning west and stopping at a home in the 1900 block. Trosky was ordered out of the car and handcuffed.
Trosky apologized for not stopping and said he didn’t want his vehicle to get towed because it cost him money last time, the police report said. Williams said his vehicle would have been towed either way. A wrecker was called, Trosky was arrested and he was taken to the Brown County jail.
He was charged on July 9 with two Level 6 felonies for operating a vehicle as an habitual traffic violator and resisting law enforcement.
