Monthly Archives: August 2016

Columbus Utilities helping Kokomo

Crews from the City of Columbus’s Department of Public Works left yesterday to assist with clean-up efforts in Kokomo after a line of tornadoes caused damage to over 1,000 homes. Those clean-up efforts are expected to last another three to five weeks.

Dave Hayward, Executive Director of the Department of Public Works, says the city sent a crew of four employees and four pieces of heavy equipment. They will remain in Kokomo through the end of the week assisting with work such as clearing fallen trees.

Hayward says that the gesture is a small way to pay-back the municipalities throughout Indiana that came to Columbus’ aid after the flood of 2008.

Broken tail light leads to drug arrest

Clinton ChadwellColumbus police are reporting that a broken taillight led to the arrest of a Seymour man on drug charges last night.

An officer stopped the truck with the broken tail light at about 8:45 p.m. Tuesday in the 700 block of Central Avenue. Officer Jeremy Jones had his police dog Max check the vehicle and Max alerted to the smell of drugs.

Police allegedly found heroin in the billfold of the driver, 28-year-old Clinton D. Chadwell. Syringes were also allegedly found. Chadwell is facing preliminary charges of possession of heroin, drug paraphernalia and a legend drug injection device.

Dog euthanized, owner arrested in neglect case

Ian Amburgey
Ian Amburgey

A North Vernon man is facing animal neglect charges after a maggot-infested Border Collie at his home had to be euthanized by animal control officers.

The North Vernon police are reporting that they received a tip about the pitiful living conditions of the dog on Hayden Pike. The tip reported that the dog was chained up in the back yard, with no food nor water and that it had an infected cut around its neck. Police found that the dog’s collar had begun cutting into the skin.

The dog’s owner, 23 year old Ian Amburgey, was arrested on the misdemeanor neglect charge.

Council reaches budget compromise; issues remain

Bartholomew County Council has ironed out a budget for next year, but they will still be wrangling with the County Commissioners over an economic development fund that has mostly been used for road improvements and a proposed property tax increase.

Bill Lentz
Bill Lentz

Council President Bill Lentz offered the compromise last night.

08-31 Bill Lentz-1

The proposed budget calls for taking $700,000 from an income tax fund set aside for economic development, but usually used to repair road. The commissioners had earlier said they would hand over $200,000 from the fund. But the council believes it now has the authority, after changes to state law, to control how much to put into the fund in the first place.

Commissioners disagree. They had voluntarily offered $200,000 from the fund, but were prepared to square off over control of the rest of the money. Commissioners President Rick Flohr:

08-31 Rick Flohr-1

In a separate division in the budget process, one of the hardships the council faces is that the county does not have a cumulative capital development fund in place. Without that fund, the state took away about $680,000 from the county’s budget

Flohr explains that the commissioners would rather the council approve an increase in the income tax rate for residents:

08-31 rich flohr-2

The council will meet again at 5 p.m. Thursday in the Governmental Office Building on Third Street for further budget discussions.

Homeowner with gun confronts suspected burglar

Darrik Burton
Darrik Burton

A Bartholomew County woman found a man in her home rummaging through her things over the weekend, but he ran away when she came into the room with a gun.

Authorities are now reporting they have arrested 33-year-old Darrik Burton of Pine Street, in Columbus in the case.

The incident unfolded at about 2:50 p.m. Saturday in the 7000 block of County Road 300S when a woman heard someone shaking her front door to see if it was locked. She retrieved a handgun and found a man going through a bag in the kitchen. The man ran from the home and she lost sight of him.

Shortly afterward, off-duty Columbus police officer Jay Frederick saw a man matching the description walking on County Road 400W. The homeowner identified Burton as the suspect and he was taken to jail on a preliminary charge of residential entry.

The sheriff’s department says that Burton is being held on $257,000 bond and is a suspect in another incident in the same area on the same day.

Felony charges filed in fish-kill incident, says newspaper

A Milroy man is facing felony charges following an investigation into a large fish kill in the Little Flatrock River.

“The Greensburg Daily News” is reporting that 41-year-old Bradley J. Tressler is facing two Level 6 felony charges of Criminal Mischief Resulting in at Least $50,000 in Damages, as well as Transporting Hazardous Waste to an Unpermitted Facility with the Offense Resulting in Damages to the Environment. The paper reports that the charges are related to an incident that took place in June.

The paper reports that Indiana Conservation Officers and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management began investigating the fish kill two months ago after state conservation officers were dispatched to a scene just off of State Road 3, south of Milroy. According to the report, IDEM officials said that the discharge killed numerous species of fish, crayfish and other aquatic life. The incident also led to Greensburg utilities taking precautions to protect the city’s drinking water, said the newspaper.

The report says that the Rush County Prosecutor’s Office is pursuing the felony charges against Tressler. They allege that he is responsible for the incident, which saw a 25,000 to 30,000-gallon discharge of manure within the river.

Tressler’s initial hearing is set for Thursday, Sept. 18, in Rush County Circuit Court.

Shelbyville man dies in hit-and-run crash

A person has died after a hit-and-run crash in Shelby County late Monday night.

WISH-TV Channel 8 is reporting that the incident happened around 10 p.m. in the 9500 block of South State Road 9 in Flat Rock. According to the report, police arrived on the scene to find the body of 20-year-old Nathan Turner, of Shelbyville, who died from “massive trauma.”

The television station is quoting police as saying that it appears that Turner fell out of a moving vehicle being driven by 29-year-old Adam Nordhoff, of Hope. Once Turner fell out of the vehicle, police believe he was struck by a vehicle heading north from the accident scene. Police do not have a description of the suspect vehicle.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department at (317) 398-6661.

Hope teen killed in motorcycle crash

A Hope man died in a motorcycle crash Monday night and police believe he may have been involved in a police chase earlier that evening.

Judy Jackson, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson, says that at approximately 11:43 p.m., Deputy Dane Duke was in the area of Sunland Road when he came across a single tire track running off the roadway. When he investigated, he reportedly found the body of 18-year-old Xavier Maurice Scrogham.

Jackson says that a preliminary investigation indicates that Scrogham’s motorcycle was headed east on Sunland Road. As he entered a 90-degree left turn, Scrogham’s motorcycle went off the east side of the road, where it traveled across a grassy area before striking a telephone pole guide wire. Police say that Scrogham was thrown from the motorcycle and came to a rest on the grassy area while his motorcycle continued into a soybean field. Scrogham was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, said Jackson.

Investigators say that they believe this was the motorcycle that was involved in an earlier pursuit with Nashville Police. At approximately 11:36 pm, Emergency Operations Dispatch advised the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department and Columbus Police that a Nashville Reserve Police Officer was chasing a motorcycle south on US 31 from 10th Street in Columbus, before turning east on Base Road. According to authorities, the pursuit was headed north on County Road 650 East when the reserve officer lost sight of the motorcycle on 25th Street.

Authorities say that the investigation is ongoing.

Columbus Police arrest one on heroin, syringe charges

Columbus Police say that they arrested a local man on drug charges after responding to a complaint on Sunday night.

Lt. Matt Harris, CPD spokesman, says that, at approximately 10:10 p.m., Officer Zach Wright responded to the 4000 block of 25th Street after

Josh Leisman; Photo courtesy of CPD
Josh Leisman; Photo courtesy of CPD

receiving a report of a suspicious person. When Wright arrived, he reported finding Joshua P. Leisman, 25, and two other people behind a gas station. Police learned that Leisman had a warrant arrest out of Marion County and was taken into custody.

Harris says that officers later found a syringe and heroin inside a pack of cigarettes belonging to Leisman, who is facing preliminary charges of Possession of Heroin and Possession of a Legend Drug Injection Device.

Police: Fugitive arrested after running away

Christopher Bryant
Christopher Bryant

Columbus police say they arrested a wanted man after he ran from them Sunday evening.

Police came upon 30-year-old Christopher S. Bryant at an apartment in the 900 block of Lafayette Ave at about 6:20 p.m., says Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the department. Bryant was wanted on warrants from Bartholomew and Decatur counties and allegedly ran away when police tried to arrest him. H

e was found about four blocks away and arrested on the warrants and a preliminary charge of resisting law enforcement.