Courtroom jousting follows standoff for local defendant
A weekend standoff with local police landed a 25-year-old Greencastle man in court Monday, but a standoff with the judge wasn't about to balance the scales of justice.
Claiming to be a sovereign citizen -- one answerable only to his interpretation of common law and not the laws of the United States or any state or municipality -- wasn't a new tactic for Wesley Nathan January.
It didn't work when January tried it last December in a criminal trespassing case in front of Putnam Superior Court Judge Denny Bridges and he wasn't going to fare any better with it Monday in appearing in the same courtroom before Judge Pro Tem Trudy Selvia.
Oh sure, he tried. He started out even denying that his name is Wesley January.
And when Judge Selvia asked, "So your name has never been Wesley January?," the defendant said that was correct.
Then when the judge routinely enunciated the basic elements of the case against January for the court and the defendant, he claimed he did not understand them.
"Do you understand?" Judge Selvia asked pointedly.
"I stand under no one," the defiant defendant answered.
But the courtroom jousting reached its crescendo when Selvia listed the charges against January as a result of his arrest late Saturday following a nearly 13-hour standoff on Cottonwood Court in the Woods Edge Subdivision in Greencastle. They are:
-- Dealing in marijuana, a Level 6 felony that carries a sentencing range of 6-30 months in jail.
-- Possession of marijuana (more than 30 grams), another Level 6 felony.
-- Domestic battery, a third Level 6 felony.
-- Possession of paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor, which carries a sentence range of up to a year in jail.
Summarizing, Selvia told January "there are four charges against you."
"Who's 'you'?" January responded.
Selvia quickly seized control of this standoff.
"Mr. January, we're not going to do this. Stop right now," she ordered.
But he wasn't done protesting his time in court.
As the judge routinely entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf to all charges, January objected, claiming he was being denied his due process.
January was reportedly in possession of a handgun during the standoff, according to a police summary of the events of late Friday and early Saturday.
Judge Selvia asked January if he had a handgun permit for the weapon.
The defendant indicated he didn't have to answer that question on the grounds he might incriminate himself.
"Do you have a handgun permit, yes or no?" she persisted.
January never did answer, and undoubtedly taking no for an answer, Selvia moved the proceedings along, appointing Mindi Jackman-Hanlin to represent the defendant.
She also vacated an Aug. 17 trial date in an earlier petition to revoke probation case against January.
A no-contact ordered was issued on behalf of the alleged victim in the domestic battery case and an Aug. 3 pretrial conference date was set in the case.
Deputy Prosecutor James Hanner asked the court for a $10,000 cash-only bond in the new case.
Judge Selvia granted the $10,000 bond recommendation and January was returned to the Putnam County Jail.