Woman charged with marijuana possession
A Franklin woman has been charged with possession of marijuana after being in a vehicle that was stopped for not having a license plate light.
Indiana State Police Trooper Matthew Hatchett made the stop on State Road 46 East near Salt Creek Road on Nov. 12. While speaking with the driver, Hatchett reported smelling marijuana. The driver and his passenger, Ilana Fischer, 24, of Franklin, told Hatchett they had left a concert where other people were smoking marijuana, a probable cause affidavit states.
Both told Hatchett there was no marijuana in the vehicle. They complied when asked to step out. Hatchett reported finding a rolled marijuana cigarette in a cigarette pack in Fischer’s jacket pocket. Fischer said she had forgotten it was there.
Fischer was issued a summons and both were released from the scene, the affidavit states. On Nov. 27, she was charged with possession of marijuana, Class B misdemeanor.
Misdemeanors filed against woman
Police say a Brown County woman crashed a van while intoxicated, walked away from the scene, and then tried to escape officers while in custody.
Charges were filed against Lisa Benefiel, 49, on Dec. 26.
Around 4:30 p.m. Dec. 23, police were dispatched to the 2700 block of Helmsburg Road for a wrecked vehicle. The caller reported seeing a man and woman walking away from the flipped vehicle. The caller said that the two “hurriedly” waved them on to keep driving past the crash, according to a probable cause affidavit by Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Rogers.
Deputies Austin Schonfeld and Kyle Minor reported smelling alcohol in the crashed van. The plate was registered to a man who lived in the 2800 block of Grandma Barnes Road.
The registered owner met Rogers in the driveway holding a beer can, the officer wrote. He said he just found out about his wrecked vehicle from Benefiel, who lived in another home at the same address.
Benefiel told police she had been drinking, but denied leaving in the van. Rogers noted she was acting irritable, that her balance was unsteady and she was slurring her words, according to the affidavit.
She said that she, the van’s owner and another man were standing in the yard when it was stolen, and that they were trying to figure out what to do about it when police arrived.
Benefiel went back inside and another man admitted to police that he had helped her out of the wrecked van, then back to the house.
However, Benefiel continued to deny taking the van. She first told police it was stolen as she was warming it up with her purse inside. When asked why she was warming the van up after she had been drinking, she said she was doing it to “keep it in good working order,” the affidavit states.
She then told police that her brother had taken the vehicle, crashed it, returned to the home and then left on foot for Bloomington. Minor reported seeing blood and scrapes on her hands, but Benefiel said it was paint. Officers also reported that part of her hair was wet and she had dirt on her arms. Benefiel said she had just taken a shower.
Benefiel refused to take field sobriety tests and resisted being detained by Schonfeld. She was placed in handcuffs, but continued to fight officers and acted “belligerently,” the affidavit states.
Once at the Brown County jail, Benefiel opened the door of Schonfeld’s police vehicle and attempted to run before being caught again. She was placed in leg shackles by jail staff after she continued to kick and act belligerently, the report said.
She took a breath test during book-in and it showed her blood-alcohol content to be 0.09, the report said.
She was charged with five misdemeanors for operating a vehicle while intoxicated with endangerment, resisting police, leaving the scene of an accident, disorderly conduct and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Police: Man punched relative in head
GATESVILLE — A Brown County man faces two misdemeanors after police say he punched a relative in the head, then smashed a phone as the person tried to call police.
On Dec. 10, police were dispatched to a home in the 4400 block of Wright Lane for a physical domestic situation.
Eric Goodwin, 51, told Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy William Pool that he and one of the people at the home had argued. He said he may have bumped into that person “a little bit.”
Goodwin instructed another relative to come to the door to tell the police whether he was OK or not. That person looked at Goodwin each time before shaking his head yes, that he was OK and felt safe, before Goodwin shut the door.
Deputy Josh Stargell discovered that the incident began after Goodwin wanted the younger relative to clean the bathroom. The victim who had called police said he tried to get into the bathroom to use the restroom, but Goodwin told him to wait 30 minutes.
The victim knocked again. Goodwin allegedly became enraged, saying the victim was being disrespectful. The victim told police that Goodwin then pushed him against the wall and punched him in the head.
The victim told Goodwin he was calling the police and Goodwin began to fight him for the phone before getting the phone away from him, smashing it on the dresser and stomping it.
Goodwin was placed under arrest and taken to the Brown County jail. He was charged Dec. 12 with domestic battery and interference with the reporting of a crime, both Class A misdemeanors.
