Putnam Scanner for 6-24-15

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

County Jail

Several people have been booked into the Putnam County Jail recently.

* At 5:06 a.m. Saturday, Clint Joseph Byrd, 18, Greencastle, was arrested for disorderly conduct and being a minor in consumption of an alcoholic beverage.

At 5:57 a.m. Nicholas Anthony Gordan Smith, 18, Indianapolis, was charged with disorderly conduct and probation violation.

At 10:46 p.m. Valentin Gonzalez Gutierrez, 33, Indianapolis, was lodged at the jail for driving while intoxicated.

* At 2 p.m. Sunday, Jeff David Sams, 29, no city listed, was booked in for theft and false informing.

At 11:30 p.m. Shane Benjamin Morris, 39, Indianapolis, was arrested for sale of marijuana and possession of marijuana.

At 11:37 p.m. Fredrick McKinney, 34, Indianapolis, was charged with sale of marijuana and possession of marijuana.

* At 12:18 a.m. Monday, Adrian Raysean Hampton, 24, Indianapolis, was lodged at the jail for sale of marijuana and possession of marijuana.

At 11:50 a.m. David Salomon-Rangel, 37, Indianapolis, was booked in for driving with a suspended license.

At 12:20 p.m. Jodi Lynn Burch-Shelton, 35, Veedersburg, was arrested for robbery and probation violation.

* At 4:34 a.m. Tuesday, Bobby Joe Haggard, 39, Fillmore, was arrested for domestic battery.

Sheriff's Department

The Putnam County Sheriff's Department responded to five recent property-damage accidents.

* At 12:45 p.m. on Thursday, Linda B. Goffinet, 60, Martinsville, was westbound on State Road 42 in a 1998 Buick Century when a deer collided with her vehicle.

She told Capt. Tom Helmer the deer ran into the driver's side front of the car.

Goffinet said she did not see the animal until it hit her windshield, which shattered.

Damage was listed at $2,501-$5,000.

* At 4:31 p.m. on Friday, Robert U. Kersey, 45, Sikeston, Mo., was eastbound on the Interstate 70 off-ramp at U.S. 231 in a 2015 Volvo semi tractor-trailer. Kersey was attempting to cross U.S. 231 to the on-ramp.

Kersey told Sgt. Gregg Slover he did not see the northbound 2008 GMC Sierra driven by Dennis W. Meyer, 43, Haubstat, as it approached.

Meyer's vehicle struck the right front fender of Kersey's truck.

Meyer told Slover he could not avoid the collision.

Capt. Helmer also assisted at the scene.

Damage was listed at $5,001-$10,000.

* Shortly before 4 a.m. Saturday, Travis W. Spears, 22, Danville, was apparently traveling on U.S. 36 near County Road 900 East when his 2010 Dodge Avenger crashed on the side of the road.

Spears told Deputy Mike Downing that for some reason his vehicle left the road and the next thing he remembered was a man helping him out of the middle of the road.

Anthony C. Brown told Downing he was passing the scene and saw a man flagging down help. Brown stopped and Spears told him he was a passenger in the vehicle and his buddy had fled the scene.

Brown said there was no one in sight and he had not passed anyone on the road.

The damaged vehicle is also registered in Spears' name.

Spears was subsequently taken to the Putnam County Jail for a certified BAC test and registered at a level of .26 percent.

He was charged with driving while intoxicated and driving without financial responsibility.

Damages included the passenger front quarter panel, passenger front tire and passenger rear quarter panel. Damage was estimated at $5,001-$10,000.

* At 4:35 a.m. on Saturday, the right lane of eastbound U.S. 40 was closed near County Road 800 West in Washington Township. Employees of the Brazil City Water Department had shut down the lane due to a water main break.

Workers had numerous barricades along the path of the closure. Additionally, numerous vehicles at the scene had amber lights activated.

A 2000 Ford Crown Victoria registered to the City of Brazil was facing west in the lane with two amber lights flashing in the grille and another flashing in the dashboard, in addition to emergency flashers.

Richard L. Miller, 37, Brazil was eastbound in a 2002 Saturn Vue and failed to observe the lane closure until it was too late.

Marks on the pavement indicated Miller swerved left just prior to impact, causing his right front to impact the right front of the Brazil vehicle.

Miller told officers he was heading back to his residence in Brazil, although he was actually driving away from the city.

After being checked by Operation Life for injuries, Miller was transported to the Putnam County Jail for a BAC test, which indicated a .133 blood alcohol content.

Miller was booked into the jail at 6 a.m. for operating while intoxicated and operating while intoxicated with a prior conviction.

Damage was listed at $10,001-$25,000.

The accident was investigated by Capt. Helmer, assisted by Deputy Matt Biggs and Cloverdale Officer Luke Brown.

* At 6:22 p.m. Saturday, Deputy Downing was dispatched to 3583 E. State Road 240 to investigate a property-damage accident in the yard.

Joseph C. Masters, 18, Greencastle, told Downing he had pulled his pickup truck into the yard around 9 a.m. Masters said the yard was muddy due to recent rains and he slid into the rear end of the 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier registered to Sherri D. Nield, Greencastle, while he was parking. The car had been parked there by Nield's daughter who, along with Masters, is an employee of Big Bounce Fun House Rentals.

The impact caused damage to the front bumper of Masters' truck and to the driver's side quarter panel, rear driver's side taillight and truck lid of Nield's vehicle.

Masters told Downing he did not have insurance and was cited for failure to maintain financial responsibility.

Damage was estimated at $2,501-$5,000.

City Fire

The Greencastle Fire Department assisted with one medical run and five other dispatches recently.

* At 5:12 p.m. Saturday, GFD responded to a fire at 716 Crown St. The department put out a fire on the stove.

* At 12:49 a.m. Sunday, GFD investigated a fire alarm at 420 Anderson St. The alarm on the first floor was set off due to smoking.

* At 2:07 a.m. Sunday, GFD responded to a report of a tree in the power lines at 1107 S. Indiana St. Duke Energy was called and the department stayed on scene until they arrived.

* At 3:21 a.m. Sunday, GFD removed a tree from the roadway at the intersection of Howard and Maple streets blown down by the storm.

* At 3:57 a.m. Sunday, GFD removed a tree from the roadway on Walker Lane, one mile north of West Walnut Street that was blown down by the storm.

Information included in the Putnam Scanner is taken from reports provided to the Banner Graphic by the Greencastle Police, the Greencastle Fire and the Putnam County Sheriff's departments.

Individuals listed in the blotter have been arrested on probable cause and have not been formally charged. Charging information may change after an initial arrest.

Questions about listed charging information should be directed to the arresting agency.