Man faces OWI charges after crash
An Indianapolis man faces multiple misdemeanors in Brown County after he was found to be driving while intoxicated when police responded to a crash on Nov. 18.
Indiana Conservation Officer Joseph Tenbarge responded to the crash on Yellowwood Lake Road south of Lanam Ridge Road at around 3 p.m. and found Raymond Sahm, 55, in the driver’s seat.
Tenbarge reported that Sahm admitted to drinking “too much.” He also reportedly had slurred speech, smelled of alcohol and his balance was poor. Tenbarge also noted that Sahm made statements that did not make sense and that were alcohol bottles in the vehicle, his report said.
Sahm failed three field tests. A breath test showed his blood-alcohol content to be 0.21, more than twice the legal limit. A chemical test administered at the Brown County Jail showed his BAC to be 0.18.
No injuries were reported in the crash.
Sahm was charged Nov. 19 with operating a vehicle while intoxicated — endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor; operating a vehicle with an ACE of 0.15 or more, a Class A misdemeanor; and operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor.
Crash results in OWI arrest
CORDRY-SWEETWATER — An early morning crash on Nov. 10 resulted in the arrest of a Brown County woman for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Jim Green responded to the crash at the intersection of Sweetwater Trail and Sweetwater Drive just after 4:30 a.m. The driver, Abigail Metsch, 28, told Green she was the driver.
Green reported smelling alcohol on Metsch. She also failed to shut her vehicle off and had to pull herself from it, the police report said.
A chemical test administered at the Brown County jail about two hours after the crash had Metsch’s blood-alcohol content at 0.10, more than the legal limit of 0.08.
She was charged Nov. 19 with three misdemeanors for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Women charged for not showing up at jail
Level 6 felony charges were filed against two women on Oct. 29 after they failed to show up to serve jail time for not paying child support.
On July 13, Jennifer Patterson, 36, of West Becks Grove Road, was sentenced to serve 30 days in the Brown County jail. She could be released after posting a $500 cash bond to go toward child support. She was ordered to report to the jail on Aug. 13 at 4 p.m.
Jail Commander Tony Sciscoe reported on Aug. 13 that Patterson failed to arrive to serve her sentence and she had not paid the $500 bond to be released.
On Aug. 10, Judy Pena, 38, of Columbus, was sentenced to serve 35 days in the Brown County jail. She could be released from jail if she paid a $385 cash bond that would be credited toward child support, according to a probable cause affidavit by investigator Steve Brahaum.
Pena was ordered to report to the jail on Oct. 19 at 4 p.m. She did not arrive, and she did not paid the cash bond, Sciscoe reported.
Both women were charged with failure to return to lawful detention on Oct. 29.
Woman faces felony for cashing check
A woman from Nineveh faces a Level 6 felony forgery charge after police say she cashed a check she thought belonged to her husband, but was meant for someone else.
The investigation began in July when the Brown County Sheriff’s Department received a report of theft from a man who lived on Sweetwater Trail. The man said he wrote a check for $3,234 to another man for logs that were purchased, but left the “Pay to the order of” part blank, according to a probable cause affidavit by Det. Brian Shrader with the Brown County Sheriff’s Department.
A few days later, that man contacted the theft victim to say he lost the check and he wrote another one, but this time wrote a name on the check.
Both checks were cashed.
The first check was dated in June and had the name of 41-year-old Julie Proctor added to it. It was endorsed by her cursive signature on the back, the affidavit states.
On Aug. 1, Sheriff Scott Southerland interviewed the theft victim. He said that when he went to Proctor’s home, she told him that she found the check in their home and thought it was for business her husband had done, the affidavit states. She said she added her name to the payee line and deposited the check. She said the money had already been spent. She asked to make payments over time, but the theft victim did not agree to this, according to the probable cause affidavit.
On July 20, Shrader spoke with Proctor’s husband who said the situation was a misunderstanding and that Proctor cashes checks written to him. He said he has people leave the name blank on the check.
He said the check Proctor cashed did not belong to him, but she thought it did. He said he had some log splitters for sale and the check had said “logs sold,” so Proctor might have thought the check was for the log splitters.
Shrader noted in the affidavit that the Proctors still had the log splitters.
No money had been returned to the theft victim. Shrader had attempted to make several phone calls to Proctor and left messages for her, but had not received a call back. Charges were filed against her on Nov. 15.
Stop for taillights results in charge
A Jeffersonville man was caught driving a vehicle as an habitual traffic violator after he was stopped for not having working taillights on Nov. 7.
Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Colton Magner stopped a truck driven by Charles Kelley, 44, of Jeffersonville, on State Road 46 East near Salt Creek Road, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Magner reported the truck did not have a functional taillights with no visible license plate. Kelley presented an Indiana identification card, but told Magner he did not have a valid driver’s license. Magner discovered Kelley to be an habitual traffic violator through Bureau of Motor Vehicle records.
Kelley was arrested and transported to the Brown County jail. He was charged with a Level 6 felony for operating a vehicle as an habitual traffic violator on Nov. 8.
