Five people were arrested in Seymour Tuesday morning after a disturbance involving a gun.

According to Seymour Police Department reports, officers were called to the scene at about 12:24 a.m. yesterday morning near North Broadway and Ninth Streets. Police talked to witnesses who said they were looking for a stolen bicycle and went to a home on North Broadway, where an argument broke out and then a gun was displayed. The gun was then taken back inside a residence.

After obtaining a search warrant, officers entered the home to look for the weapon, and saw drug paraphernalia inside. A second search warrant was issued to look for drug evidence. Police recovered the weapon, as well as methamphetamine, marijuana, tablets, and paraphernalia.

31-year-old Eduin F. Recarte of Seymour, was arrested on preliminary charges of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, pointing a firearm, being an illegal alien with a firearm, and visiting a common nuisance.

33-year-old Israel J. Jimenez-Santiago of Seymour is being accused of being an illegal alien with a firearm, possessing methamphetamine, a controlled substance, a syringe and drug paraphernalia, as well as visiting a common nuisance.

41-year-old Derek A. Inman and 25-year-old Karley Elsner were both arrested on charges including maintaining a common nuisance, as well as possession of methamphetamine, marijuana and a syringe. Inman is also being accused of possession of a controlled substance.

30-year-old Omar E.T. Salvador of Seymour, was arrested for operating a motor vehicle while never having received a license.

Police say the immigration statuses of Recarte, Jimenez-Santiago, and Salvador are currently under investigation.

A North Vernon woman was arrested early Tuesday morning on drug-related charges after a traffic stop near Edinburgh.

According to reports from the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, deputies pulled over a vehicle for a traffic violation at about 3:13 a.m. near the intersection of West County Road 800N and Executive Drive. A department police dog alerted to the odor of narcotics in the vehicle.

A search revealed what deputies suspected as methamphetamine as well as drug paraphernalia. The driver, 54-year-old Cathy Ford of North Vernon was taken into custody and she was found to be carrying more methamphetamine.

She was arrested on preliminary charges for possessing the drugs and paraphernalia, as well as a syringe.

Seymour police believe they have solved a series of burglaries a local medical offices, which had been going on for two weeks.

According to police department reports, officers investigated four of the burglaries between June 29th and July 14th, at two doctor’s offices, both on Medical Place. Police estimate losses of more than $10,000 including equipment taken and damage done. After developing a suspect, police served a search warrant at a home in the 300 block of Haag Avenue on Thursday. They uncovered methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

The suspect, 19-year-old Jackson O. Allman of Seymour was arrested on preliminary charges of burglary, theft and for possessing the drugs and paraphernalia.

A Muncie man is facing drug-related charges after a Monday afternoon traffic stop in downtown Columbus.

According to reports from the Columbus Police Department, officers stopped a vehicle for a minor traffic violation at about 4:20 p.m. Monday near the intersection of Ninth and Franklin streets. Police say that the occupants appeared nervous and a search revealed a plastic bag near where the front seat passenger was sitting. Inside the bag, police found methamphetamine, marijuana, and Xanax.

The passenger, 41-year-old Gregory A. Easterly was arrested on preliminary charges for possessing the drugs.

INDOT is planning a public meeting on Aug. 1st to gather your thoughts on improvements to U.S. 31 in Franklin.

The estimated $41.9 million project is meant to reduce congestion, improve traffic flow and increase safety. As proposed, it would create reduced conflict intersections along U.S. 31, replace a bridge over Canary Ditch, make drainage improvements and upgrade pedestrian amenities including multi-use trails and ADA-compliant curb ramps. Work is expected to start next spring.

The meeting will be in the Franklin Community Middle School Auditorium on Grizzly Cub Drive with doors opening at 6 p.m. in the evening on Aug. 1st. A formal presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Work continues on a sewer improvement project near the roundabout at Mill Race Park and Indianapolis Road in downtown Columbus.

According to city officials, the intersection of 8th and Brown Streets will close this morning and remain closed through Friday afternoon to replace a manhole. That will mean the closing of Brown Street between 5th Street and the roundabout and Eighth Street between Brown and Lindsey Streets.

Officials say you should avoid the area if you can.

Greenwood officials are praising the actions of a young Seymour man in stopping a Sunday shooting that left four dead at Greenwood Park Mall.

At a press conference yesterday afternoon, Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison said that without the actions of 22-year-old Elisjsha “Eli” Dicken, the incident could have been even worse.

Ison said Dicken’s actions were nothing less than heroic, engaging the gunman who was shooting a rifle while armed with only a pistol and at a distance.  Police say that Dicken does not appear to have any military or police training.

Mayor Mark Myers praised Dicken’s actions:

Ison said that the gunman, identified as 20-year-old Johnathan D. Sapirman of Greenwood, came to the mall with two rifles, several magazines with more than 100 rounds of ammunition and a handgun. At just before 6 p.m. he emerged from the mall restroom and began firing, killing three people and injuring two others.

Within two minutes of the start of Sapirman’s shooting spree, he was confronted by Dicken who was carrying a concealed 9mm pistol. Dicken engaged the shooter hitting Sapirman several times. Sapirman tried to retreat back to the restroom, but fell to the ground and died.

Although Dicken did not have a license to carry the concealed weapon, he was legally allowed to do so under Indiana’s Constitutional Carry law, police say.

Authorities said that the victims of the shooting were 30-year-old Victor Gomez, 56-year-old Pedro Pineda and his wife 37-year-old Rosa Rivera de Pineda,all of Indianapolis. Police say autopsies will be performed today on Sapirman and the three victims. Those wounded included a woman shot in the leg and a 12-year-old girl who was hit by a ricochet.

Police Chief Ison said that the Johnson County dispatch center was overwhelmed by calls from the mall and those overflow calls were forwarded to Bartholomew County’s dispatch center which fielded more than 50 of the calls. Bartholomew County deputies also responded to the mall to assist at the scene.

Ison said that the police have recovered many items of personal property left by those fleeing from the mall during the incident. People can pick those up at the Greenwood Police Training Center starting today.

Bartholomew County Solid Waste Management District will be offering a chance on Aug. 17th to get rid of unwanted pesticides as part of the Office of the State Chemist’s Clean Sweep program.

For free, you can can get rid of up to 250 pounds each of weed killers, insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, miticides or other pesticides. The event is open to farmers, schools, nurseries, golf courses, local governments and others.

You can bring containers to the site that are labeled, leak free and safe to transport. You should not mix materials. You should bring with you a list of products you are carrying and a contact phone number.

You can drop off materials from 9 to 3 p.m. at the Solid Waste Management District.

You do need to register in advance by August 5th. You can download the participation form at the Office of the Indiana State Chemist website to download the participant form   or contact Nathan Davis at [email protected] to have a participant form emailed. Those wanting to participate are required to complete and submit the participant form by mail, e-mail, or fax by August 5, 2022.

A Seymour man is being identified as the Good Samaritan who stopped the mass shooting last night that left four dead at Greenwood Park Mall.

At a press conference this afternoon, Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison said that without the actions of 22-year-old Elisjsha Dicken, the incident could have been even worse.

Ison said that the gunman, identified as 20-year-old Jonathan D. Sapirman of Greenwood, came to the mall with two rifles, several magazines with more than 100 rounds and a handgun. The rifles had been broken down and were carried inside a bag. Sapirman first went to the restroom near the food court where he left one rifle and the bag inside, dropped his cell phone into the water in a toilet. and then came out the door shooting at just before 6 p.m. He fired 24 rounds, killing three people and injuring two others.

Within two minutes of the start of Sapirman’s shooting spree, he was confronted by Dicken who was carrying a concealed 9mm pistol. Dicken, wearing shorts and a T-shirt, engaged the shooter at what Ison described as a long range for a pistol, hitting Sapirman several times. Sapirman tried to retreat back to the restroom, but fell to the ground and died.

Dicken announced himself to mall security as the person who returned fire, and he was handcuffed, taken into custody by the Greenwood police and questioned at the police station. Video evidence showed the entire incident and backed up Dicken’s story.

Police say that Dicken does not appear to have any military or police training. However he had great accuracy returning fire with 10 shots. He also waived people to safety behind him while returning fire.

Police say autopsies will be performed tomorrow on Sapirman and the three victims, Victor Gomez, 30,  Pedro Pineda, 56,  and his wife Rosa Rivera de Pineda, 37, all of Indianapolis.

A search of Sapirman’s apartment by the Greenwood SWAT team revealed that his laptop had been placed into the oven set to a high temperature along with a can of butane. The SWAT team fell back and allowed the bomb squad to clear the apartment.

Police say Sapirman had a minor criminal record as a juvenile including a fight at school and being declared a runaway. He lost his job in May and police are investigating a report that he was being evicted from his apartment. So far, police have no motive. The phone and laptop are being analyzed by federal authorities to see if any information can be retrieved from them.

Ison said that the Johnson County dispatch center was overwhelmed by calls from the mall and those excess calls were forwarded to Bartholomew County’s dispatch center which fielded more than 50 calls. Bartholomew County deputies also responded to the mall to assist at the scene.

Ison said that the police have recovered many items of personal property left by those fleeing from the mall during the incident. People can pick those up at the Greenwood Police Training Center starting tomorrow.

A Columbus man is being accused of dealing methamphetamine, after an arrest last week.

According to Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department reports, investigators with the Bartholomew County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team had been gathering information that led them to suspect 51-year-old Mark Anderson was involved in drug dealing.

On July 11th, at about 7:36 p.m. in the evening, deputies prepared to serve a warrant at a home in the 700 block of Maple Street. Police contacted a male in the area that confirmed Anderson was in the residence.

Police took Anderson into custody on a preliminary felony charge of dealing methamphetamine.

Bartholomew County Sheriff Matthew A. Myers said that drug investigations today require far more intelligence gathering than in the past. He said that JNET, Intelligence Led Policing units along with the sheriff’s department road deputies and Columbus police are working closely to get drug dealers off the streets.

The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team is a combined unit of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, the Columbus Police Department and the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office.