Putnam Scanner for 12-31-16

Friday, December 30, 2016

County Jail

Five people have been booked in the Putnam County Jail recently.

Thursday

• At 9:17 p.m. Laconda Lou Rose, 41, Coatesville, was lodged at the jail on a local warrant.

• At 2:50 p.m. Brenton Edward Barnhill, 32, Terre Haute, arrested on a warrant for driving with a suspended license.

• At 2:34 p.m. Nathan Allen Blackburn, 20, Poland, was taken into custody on a warrant for arson.

• At 2:19 p.m. Michael Lee Bell, 24, Lewis, was housed at the jail on a warrant for possession of paraphernalia.

• At 1:22 p.m. Mark Gabriel Albright, 32, Greencastle, was booked in on a local warrant.

City Police

Two Greencastle residents were arrested Thursday night in a reported shoplifting incident at the Greencastle Walmart store.

Nicholas Rogers, 27, and Chelsi Benassi, 22, were arrested on theft charges by Officer Brad Hiatt at 7:11 p.m. after Walmart asset protection personnel observed them allgedly concealing items as they went through the store.

Rogers and Benassi reported took $148.09 in miscellaneous merchandise, including men’s T-shirts, potato wedges, barbecue chunks, women’s slippers, socks and footwear.

Authorities said the ladies’ footwear was later identified as what Benassi was wearing when the couple were apprehended reportedly putting the items in a dumpster behind the AT&T store on the outlot of the Walmart property.

Rogers and Benassi were lodged in the Putnam County Jail. Following their arrest it was discovered that Benassi had taken out a protective order against Rogers, which resulted in him additionally being charged with invasion of privacy.

Meanwhile, two recent minor accidents resulted in citations for two drivers involved in them.

• At 3:25 a.m. Thursday, a hit-and-run accident was reported on South Vine Street.

A 2005 Honda Civic, owned by Chantell Wharton, 52, Greencastle, was struck by an unknown vehicle and incurred an estimated $1,000-$2,500 damage to the driver’s side front end of the car, Officer Hiatt reported.

Wharton, however, was cited for failure to provided proof of insurance.

• At 5:54 p.m. Dec. 23, a two-vehicle mishap at Indianapolis Road and 10th Street was investigated by Reserve Officer Billy Wallace.

Dustin Weist, 31, Fillmore, was stopped westbound in the turn lane of Indianapolis Road, waiting to go left into the Buffalo Wild Wings lot when his 2016 Chevrolet Malibu was struck by a 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by Bronson Burgeson, 23, Greencastle, Wallace reported.

Burgeson was exiting the parking lot, turning left onto Indianapolis Road when his car reportedly struck the Weist vehicle.

Following the accident, Burgeson was ticketed by Officer Hiatt for failure to provide financial responsibility.

Sheriff’s Department

Putnam County sheriff’s deputies responded to one recent property damage crash.

• At 6:07 p.m on Thursday, John W. O’Neal, 72, Terre Haute, was westbound on U.S. 40 near County Road 400 East in a 2010 Honda Civic when he hit a deer.

Deputy Mike Downing estimated damage at less than $1,000.

City Fire

The Greencastle Fire Department recently responded to two dispatches and one medical run.

• At 8:43 a.m. on Friday, GFD responded to a fire alarm at 110 E. Larabee St. but was disregarded at 8:45 a.m. before departing from the station. The alarm was determined to have been set off unnecessarily due to nearby construction work.

• At 1:07 p.m. on Friday, GFD responded to reports of a transformer fire at 12 E. Liberty St. The transformer, which was found to have indeed caught fire upon arrival, caused the street to be closed until Duke Energy could arrive and extinguish the flames. GFD subsequently turned the scene over to Duke Energy and returned to station at 2:04 p.m.

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.