Overdose call results in criminal charges for local man
JACKSON TWP. — A report of an overdose on July 26 on State Road 46 resulted in a 37-year-old Unionville being charged with multiple drug-related felonies, including maintaining a common nuisance.
Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Nicholson Briles respond to the 6600 block of 45 with Deputy Kyle Minor. Byrant Picou was the caller and homeowner. He had reported a person was unconscious and was having trouble breathing, an incident report states. Dispatch reported the victim had taken a white powdery substance and was overdosing. Picou told dispatch he had administered two doses of Narcan. As police were responding, the victim woke up and was agitated, the report states.
By the time police arrived, Picou had taken the victim in his vehicle to the hospital. When Briles approached the front door, it was open and he could see into the home. He knocked multiple times, but no one was there.
When Briles looked through the door windows he reported seeing multiple syringes on the ground and on a coffee table. A white powdery substance was also visible on the table.
In a camper on the property, Briles reported seeing marijuana sitting out on a table. When Briles knocked on the door it swung open and he entered to check on the welfare of anyone inside, but was unable to find anyone and confiscated the marijuana, according to the report. Minor also reported seeing the syringes, the white powdery substance and a glass pipe in the living room. A search warrant was then granted.
Controlled substances, marijuana, multiple syringes and paraphernalia were found throughout the home. Two cell phones were also seized. Police reported finding a laundry detergent bottle filled with syringes along with a purse that had Indiana IDs that belonged to different people. Multiple bank cards, a couple Social Security cards and a birth certificate were also in the purse that did not belong to Picou.
Police did find a wallet with Picou’s driver’s license inside. It was photographed and left there.
In the camper police found more syringes and a scale with residue on it. A wallet belonging to the overdose victim was also found.
Evidence was booked in at the Brown County jail.
Picou was charged Aug. 4 with maintaining a common nuisance — controlled substances, a Level 6 felony; unlawful possession of a syringe, a Level 6 felony; possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor; and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.
Strangulation, battery charges against local man
Charges have been filed against a 36-year-old Brown County man after police say he smashed a woman against a wall and strangled her.
Police responded to the report of battery on Deer Trails on Aug. 4. The victim began to shake when officers asked what had happened to her. She told police she had gone to Craig Reeve’s house to get her belongings and he came into the room screaming at her, an incident report by Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy William Pool states.
The victim said she tried to get Reeve to let her go, but he would not. She tried shutting the door on him, but he shoved it open, smashing her against the wall. He then reportedly grabbed her by the throat with one hand. The victim said she was unable to breathe and nearly lost consciousness, the report states.
Reeve continued to scream at her and would not let her leave. He finally left the room and she was able to sneak out the window where she was hiding to leave for Deer Trails, the report said.
Pool photographed marks and bruising on the victim’s neck, arms and leg. Sgt. Chad Williams went to Reeve’s house on Mt. Liberty Road to speak with him. Reeve denied anything physical happening and said the two had a verbal argument, according to the report.
He was arrested and taken to the Brown County jail. He was charged Aug. 4 with strangulation, a Level 6 felony, and domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor.
Stop for no exterior lights results in criminal charges
A traffic stop for no working exterior lights on July 1 resulted in a Texas man being charged in Brown County for possession of methamphetamine and paraphernalia.
Nashville Police Patrolman Billy Bryant stopped Justin Mackey, 44, of Tyler, Texas, at the Nashville BP gas station. Mackey told police he had issues with his exterior lights. He said he was visiting his ex-wife who worked in town. He said he had planned on traveling back to Texas the next day, a probable cause affidavit states.
Mackey granted Indiana State Police Trooper Matt Hatchett consent to search his vehicle, saying there was nothing illegal in it. Bryant noted that when Hatchett opened the trunk, Mackey started to pace in front of his patrol car.
In the trunk area, Hatchett and Bryant reported finding a baggie with a white powdery substance inside that officers believed to be methamphetamine inside a cigarette pack that was in a jacket. Hatchett also reportedly found three glass pipes with burnt residue in a tote bag along with four cut straws, one burnt Q-tip and a grinder with a leafy substance inside, the affidavit states.
Mackey said that he and his ex were arguing over the pipes he found in her apartment. He said he loaded up her belongings to bring them to her tonight to confront her about using illegal substances. He said all of the items in the trunk belonged to her, according to the affidavit.
The ex-wife soon arrived denied the items in the tote bag as being hers. She said the jacket did belong to her. She consented to a search of her vehicle and nothing illegal was found.
Mackey was cited for possession of methamphetamine and paraphernalia since he was the only occupant of the vehicle and knew the substances were inside, according to the affidavit. He was charged July 20 with possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony, and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemea
Police: Man hit, threw coffee on person in restaurant
BEAN BLOSSOM — A Morgantown man has been charged with a misdemeanor after police responded to Brownie’s restaurant for a report of a man hitting another man and throwing hot coffee on him.
Sgt. Chad Williams responded to the report just after 8 a.m. July 13. Dispatch told him that the suspect, 46-year-old Jeremy Langley, entered Brownie’s, hit a man in the head, threw coffee on him and then left when asked to do so by an employee, the police report said.
The man who was hit said that we often went to Langley’s business in Morgantown. When he was there the week before, He gave Langley’s fiancée an electronic cigarette before joking with her that he “would take it out in trade.”
Langley came into the restaurant yelling at the man, then threw an electronic cigarette on the table. As the man stood up, Langley reportedly hit him in the left side of his face with a closed fist before throwing coffee on him, the report said.
Langley confirmed the story that the man had told police, but also said that the night before he’d learned that the man had also shown a lewd photo to his fiancée. He also accused the man of grabbing her while talking to her, according to the report.
Langley told police he had no intention of hitting the man, but when he was telling him to stay away from his fiancée, the man stood up to hit him, so he hit him in the head. Langley said he knew coffee was on the table, but he didn’t throw any and that he probably knocked it over during the incident.
Langley was arrested since he was the aggressor and caused bodily injury, the report said. Williams noted that Langley was cooperative the whole time. He was booked into the Brown County jail.
Williams gave a copy of Langley’s statement to the Morgantown Police Department due to the report of the other alleged incident.
Charge filed after fight between men from May
A 30-year-old Bloomington man faces a misdemeanor battery charge in Brown County after police responded to a fight near Plum Creek Road in May.
Jeremy Breeden was formally charged on May 17. A probable cause affidavit was released to The Democrat after Breeden failed to appear for his initial hearing and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
On May 4, Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Austin Schonfeld responded to a report of a fight near the intersection of Plum Creek Road and Dovebill Lane. Schonfeld responded along with Deputy William Pool and Nashville Police Patrolman Cody Poynter, the probable cause affidavit states.
Dispatch reported hearing two men arguing and one saying he was going to get a knife before the call was disconnected. Dispatch was unable to make contact again, so police responded.
When police arrived, the caller said he had been helping his boss work on an RV on his property along with Breeden when Breeden and the caller’s boss began arguing. The caller was then “called out” by Breeden and when he exited the RV, Breeden threatened to hit him, the affidavit states.
It was unclear why Breeden and the boss were fighting or why Breeden had called the man out.
When the caller confronted Breeden, Breeden’s girlfriend grabbed him by the shoulder and Breeden hit him over the back of the head with a board. Schonfeld noted he had fresh cuts on his left shoulder from when the girlfriend grabbed him. Schonfeld also reported seeing minor redness where he was hit in the head, but he denied a check-out by EMS.
The board Breeden had allegedly used was broken in two pieces. Photographs were taken.
The boss took Breeden and the girlfriend back to Bloomington. Monroe County was notified to try to locate the two.
OWI, drug, handgun charges filed against man
A traffic stop last December for incorrect license plates resulted in a brief pursuit and multiple criminal charges filed against a local man.
Charges were filed against Jeffery Adams, 35, of Morgantown, on July 23 stemming from the Dec. 20 traffic stop on State Road 135 North.
Nashville Police Patrolman Cody Poynter attempted to stop Adams’ car near Orchard Hill Road for having incorrect license plates on his vehicle. Adams ignored Poynter’s lights and sirens until he pulled over in the 2500 block.
The vehicle’s two front tires were in a ditch and Adams reversed the vehicle to get back on the pavement before Poynter approached, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Poynter ordered Adams out of the vehicle and he complied. He was handcuffed. Poynter noted that he could smell a strong odor of alcohol on Adams. Adams told Poynter he had weapons in his car.
A passenger was also placed in handcuffs.
Adams told police he had a “couple beers” at his home before he and the passenger drove to Speedway to get food. They were on their way back to the house when he was stopped, according to the affidavit.
Adams did not consent to his vehicle being searched and refused to submit to field sobriety tests. A wrecker was called to the scene and his vehicle was searched before being towed. Marijuana was found in the center console cup holder. Police also found three weapons in the vehicle and ammunition, including a semi-automatic rifle. He had filed for handgun permit, but it had not been granted yet, the affidavit states.
Poynter also noted there were alcohol containers in the backseat. A search was granted for Adams’ blood test results and he was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for a blood draw. He was then taken to the Brown County jail where he was booked in without incident. 8
Adams was charged with three misdemeanors for operating a vehicle while intoxicated; a Class C misdemeanor for operating a vehicle with a Schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite in the blood; carrying a handgun without a license, Class A misdemeanor; and possession of marijuana, Class B misdemeanor.
Speeding driver gets misdemeanor drug charges
FRUITDALE — A vehicle that sped past an officer resulted in the driver being charged with multiple drug misdemeanors.
Deputy Nicholson Briles was sitting at the old Fruitdale Market on June 28 in a marked car with a civilian rider who is also a dispatcher. He reported clocking a vehicle at about 59 mph where the speed limit is 45. Briles followed the car north on State Road 135 and it pulled into a driveway in the 7700 block.
Two men and a teenager were in the vehicle. The driver was Benjamin Voils IV, 22, of North Carmel Ridge Road, but at first, he told the officer he could not remember his date of birth. He did not have a driver’s license.
When Briles returned to his patrol car, his passenger who was riding along said that he’d seen someone throw something from the driver’s side window when the vehicle was pulling into the driveway. Briles shined his flashlight in that area and reported finding a small orange box containing what appeared to be marijuana.
Briles asked Voils if he knew anything about the orange box and he said he didn’t. He later told the officer that it was his.
Deputies Kyle Minor and Austin Schonfeld helped search the rest of the vehicle and reported finding a tray with loose marijuana and some burnt marijuana in the backseat, as well as two pipes in the center console.
A family member was called to pick up the vehicle.
Voils was issued a citation for the marijuana and for driving without a valid license. The juvenile was released to his mother.
Briles took the orange box back to the station to be placed into evidence and did some research on a piece of foil also found in the box. He suspected it contained LSD, the report said.
Voils was formally charged on July 14 with possession of a controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor; possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor; and possession of marijuana, a Class C misdemeanor.
Drug charges filed against driver, passenger
Questions over a vehicle plate and title led to two people being arrested on drug charges.
Indiana State Police Trooper Matt Hatchett was sitting near Nelson Ridge Road on June 25 when he saw a maroon Ford Focus pass without a license plate. The driver, Jennifer Ames, 42, of Morgantown, told him that she’d recently bought it and was on her way to the BMV to have it plated. Her passenger was Bret Couch, 28, of Hicks Road.
Hatchett reported smelling marijuana while speaking with them. He took the vehicle title back with him to his patrol car and saw that the previous owner was a woman, but Ames had mentioned buying it from a man. She was able to get ahold of the owner and the seller, who turned out to be a mother and son.
Hatchett then asked Ames and Couch about the marijuana smell. Ames told him she’d smoked earlier in the day but didn’t have any in the car. In the vehicle, Sgt. Colton Magner reported finding two one-hitter pipes in a purse behind the driver’s seat, as well as a cut straw with crystal-like residue in a pink bag. Magner also reported finding a backpack containing a plastic jar and another straw, and a broken orange pill suspected to be Klonopin.
In Couch’s pocket, Magner reported finding a small bag of about 2 grams of synthetic marijuana, the police report said.
The vehicle was towed.
Couch was charged on July 27 with possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor.
Ames was charged on July 26 with possession of a controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor, and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.
