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Fourth person arrested in shootings
GREENCASTLE -- A fourth person has been arrested in connection with a shooting incident that took place Tuesday morning in Greencastle.
Keven Dale Crowe, 18, of Coatesville was booked into the Putnam County Jail on preliminary charges of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon and assisting a criminal, book-in records obtained from the Putnam County Sheriff's Department said.
Arrested prior to Crowe for their alleged roles in the crimes were Justin Hargrove 24, of Greencastle, charged with attempted murder and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon; Michael Pryor, 18, of Coatesville, charged with criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon; and Lacey Couch, 23, of Greencastle, charged with resisting law enforcement, assisting a criminal and child neglect.
Couch was allegedly the driver of the vehicle in which Hargrove, Pryor and Crowe, along with a fifth unnamed suspect, were believed to have been riding. Authorities believe several shots were fired from the car over a short period of time early Tuesday.
All four suspects remain at the Putnam County Jail. No official charges have been filed yet by the Putnam County Prosecutor's Office.
Greencastle Police Department Chief Tom Sutherlin said it should be noted that all charges are preliminary charges, and that information will now be forwarded to the Putnam County Prosecutor's Office.
An initial "shots fired" call from the area of Columbia and West Walnut streets came in to Putnam County Dispatch at about 1:41 a.m. Tuesday. Several more calls followed, reporting shots fired near Rockville Road, Washington and Madison streets. Callers told dispatchers the shots sounded like they had come from a high-powered rifle.
At 1:49 a.m., dispatch received a call from an individual in the area of Washington and Madison streets that said they had heard four to six shots fired and had seen a green vehicle leave the area at a high rate of speed.
At about 2:06 a.m., Putnam County Sheriff's Department Reserve Deputy Matt Biggs saw a vehicle matching the description of the shooter's vehicle at the intersection of Bloomington and Washington streets. Biggs began driving behind the vehicle and attempted to make a traffic stop at the intersection of Franklin and Durham streets.
"Biggs advised that the passenger exited the suspect vehicle and fired approximately two or three rounds at his police vehicle," Sutherlin said. "Biggs advised that one round struck the police vehicle's hood and ricocheted into the windshield."
Biggs was not injured. He confirmed that the weapon the suspect used was a rifle, Sutherlin said.
After the suspect shot at Biggs, a vehicle pursuit ensued eastbound on Franklin Street and then north on Arlington Street. Biggs lost sight of the suspect vehicle, but at the intersection of Cameron and Arlington streets he observed what he believed to be the same suspect that had fired at his vehicle running on foot. Biggs chased the suspect on foot for a short distance before losing sight of him, Sutherlin said.
Police set up a mobile command unit in the parking lot of the National Guard Armory on Arlington Street. They worked from that location until about 7 a.m., Sutherlin said.
Witnesses told officers the shooter was a passenger in a dark-colored car, possibly green, and that the vehicle had four doors.
The vehicle turned out to be Couch's black 2007 Chevy Cobalt. After it was located, the car was taken to the Indiana State Police Post in Putnamville for processing.