Bond reduced for Jackson

Saturday, October 17, 2009

GREENCASTLE -- Over objections from the state, bond for a Greencastle woman charged with four counts of felony battery was reduced.

Treva J. Jackson, 35, faces four charges of Class C felony battery by means of a deadly weapon. She could be sentenced to a maximum of eight years in prison on each count.

Jackson was arrested on Sept. 19. At an initial hearing in Putnam County Superior Court on Sept. 21, she entered a not guilty plea and Judge Denny Bridges set her bond at $20,000 cash only.

On Sept. 30, Jackson's attorney, Kristin Szczerbik, filed a motion for a bond reduction.

On Oct. 13, Bridges reduced Jackson's bond to $20,000 with 10 percent allowed. Jackson bonded out two days later.

"Upon posting of bond, court orders defendant to report immediately to Community Corrections to be placed on electronic home monitoring," court records said. "Court further orders defendant to have no contact with named alleged victims.

The charges against Jackson stem from an incident at Old Toppers Tavern in which she is accused of brandishing a knife and injuring four people with it.

Witnesses told police the altercation began when Jackson began verbally attacking Jessica Phares, another bar patron. A scuffle ensued in which Jackson and Phares hit one another, court records said. Three men, Toby Williams, Jeffrey King and Christopher Wasnidge-Willams, were allegedly injured by Jackson with the knife when they tried to break up the fight between the two women.

Phares' boyfriend, Scott Hoover, is currently incarcerated in connection with the Dec. 15, 2007 prescription drug overdose death of Jackson's teenage son Dietrich Jackson. Phares was also initially charged in connection with Dietrich Jackson's death, but all charges against her were dismissed.

Jackson's next court date, a pretrial conference, is set for Nov. 12. Her case has been transferred to Putnam County Circuit Court.

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  • maybe if the law had done their jobs her son would not have been killed in the first place, it just goes to show how crooked this county is put yourself in her shoes for a while. she will never get her son back and his killers were set free

    -- Posted by ironmaiden on Sat, Oct 17, 2009, at 12:29 PM
  • Maybe, instead of blaiming others for the overdose death of her child. Time would have been better spent in therapy(obviously she has issues) for herself and remaining children. Why is it as his mother that she had no idea where he was, what he was doing and who he was doing it with. He was underage, right. He was her responsibility, no one elses. It was a tragic occurence, however, that child was his mother's responsibility, period.

    -- Posted by lindam7766 on Sat, Oct 17, 2009, at 1:05 PM
  • Denny, WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU THINKING?

    We elected you in hopes you would stop some of this revolving door "catch and release" system of justice in Putnam County! I am extremely disappointed. This person has a history as long as your long legs in this county, as well as other counties. Hope you rest well at night.

    -- Posted by CastlePirate on Sat, Oct 17, 2009, at 1:32 PM
  • It is so sad, because she has lost two kids. If I were in her situation and people were talking bad about my late son, I would've tried to kill them too!!!

    -- Posted by jminglert2 on Sat, Oct 17, 2009, at 9:42 PM
  • First and foremost, it is always harder to accept the facts when it's a childs life that was lost. With this being said I must also point out that the boy took the prescription pills willingly and with the intent of getting high. He was not forced to swallow these pills. The blame does not solely fall on the person who gave these medications to the boy. I place more blame on the parents for not knowing the who, what, when , where and why. Maybe Ms. Jackson should take a long hard look at what happened and then she will be able to forgive herself and get the help she so obviously needs. How many more children will we have to lose to realize intervention starts in the home... not in a bar after the fact!

    -- Posted by WTFRUthinkin on Sun, Oct 18, 2009, at 8:22 AM
  • I must say that our given legal system places a cash value on everything involved in the system. You have to go to court you have to pay a lawyer and court costs.You want out of jail you have to pay a bond. In most counties whe you are waiting for trial you are presumed innocent and when you bond out they dont re-arrest you so to speak and put you on a bracelet. That is not right,I think if they want you to pay to play then you should not be reincarcerated in your own home.Never much understood how our county gets away with releasing people from jail after they BOND out only to place them on house arrest. I personally dont care much about this story, but I can see the mothers point in what she did. She feels that her son did not get justice by the system. But in fact their is some one in jail for it today. Just because someone is the girlfriend of said person does not make them accessory for the crime.. And as what has been said before maybe the child should have had better parental supervision and this would not have happened. I am surethe child took whatever on his own free will and if you did not get it from who he did he would have gotten it somewhere else.That is the problem with society to day , parents do not take responsibity of their offspring or offer guidance to them. But the are quick to place blame on someone else. Which is sad.If you are not a capible parent you should not be one in the first place.But off the subject I do not think she should have been placed on house arrest after bonding out, but then it again is a way for the county to make more money from the person off of monitoring fees etc instead of paying for them to be in jail. On another note does she get time credit while awaiting trial.According to the Indiana Rules of court, Home detention can be used as an executed sentence or for means of probation. Which does this fall under? Seems crappy if she pays all this money only to find out that she gets no time credit for it.

    -- Posted by Oh My Goodness on Sun, Oct 18, 2009, at 10:46 AM
  • First of all,(Editor1)I do know this family and while I love Treva and her children,she is NOT a great mother. I don't believe,though,that hard time would do any good for someone like her. She needs help, and she needs a situation that requires her to change her environment,social circle, her mindset,etc. Sadly, it doesn't seem that there's many available programs for women like Treva,in their 30's and with children.I just hope that if she does get long term jail time,somehow by the Grace of God she will turn her life around. Her kids need her desperately.

    -- Posted by marleymama on Sun, Oct 18, 2009, at 4:53 PM
  • MARLEYMAMA, YOU LOVE HER YET YOU SAY SHE IS NOT A GOOD MOTHER??? HER KIDS DO NEED HER...FOR HER TO BE HOME WITH THEM.

    -- Posted by putnamnative123 on Wed, Oct 21, 2009, at 2:44 AM
  • It is my understanding that Dietrich was not living with his mother when he overdosed. He was living with a relative. Remember he was a child. And he made the choice not his mother. Why hasn't responsibility been addressed regarding his care giver at the time of his death. He was not living with his mother. Almost nothing has been said about the family members who were his caregivers at the time of his of his death or questioned their lack of supervision. Their not knowing where he was and who he was with. Because money talks! No amount of blame will replace this precious life. Lets stop trying to place blame on his mother and cherish all children. I am sure Mom needs mental health support. There are oviously mental health issues at work here. The best we can do as a community is seek out and help all children who are effected by drug and substance abuse. Stop trying to find someone to blame and just help. Drug and substance abuse are a choice an individual makes. Teach our children to make better choices and we might have a chance. Don't condem... help them!

    -- Posted by punkinmama on Wed, Oct 21, 2009, at 10:24 AM
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