Putnam Scanner for August 11, 2018

Friday, August 10, 2018

County Jail

Four people were booked in the Putnam County Jail on Thursday.

• At 4:41 p.m. Laura Lee Mills, 66, Cloverdale, was lodged at the jail for battery with bodily waste, resisting law enforcement, interference with the Department of Child Services ombudsman and disorderly conduct.

• At 3:32 p.m. Teresa Lynn Lansing, 55, Poland, was taken into custody on a local warrant for driving with a suspended license.

• At 10:33 a.m. Raymond Paul Lopez, 46, Indianapolis, was housed at the jail on a court order.

• At 8:35 a.m. David Carl Hutcheson, 51, Cloverdale, was booked in on a local traffic warrant.

Sheriff’s Department

Putnam County sheriff’s deputies investigated three recent property-damage crashes.

• At 12:47 a.m. on Friday, Thomas Alexander, 18, Bowling Green, southbound on State Road 42 in a 2002 Chrysler Sebring.

Alexander told Deputy Tanner Brown that as he came down a hill, he hit loose gravel and lost control. He told Brown he was traveling too fast on the loose gravel.

The vehicle started spinning and came to rest in a ditch.

The area of the accident had recently received a layer of gravel on top of road construction.

Damage was estimated at $1,001-$2,500.

• At 7:03 a.m. on Thursday, Saad N. Habach, 25, Indianapolis, was westbound on State Road 240, west of County Road 500 East, in a 2006 Honda Civic. Jonas L. Plasters, 21, Greencastle, was also westbound in a 2008 GMC box truck pulling a trailer.

Habach told Deputy Brian Helmer his vehicle broke down and stopped in the road and Plasters could not avoid him.

However, Plasters told Helmer that Habach had been following him and then passed him on a double-yellow line. He said Habach then stopped his vehicle in the middle of the road.

Helmer asked Habach if he could move his vehicle in order to clear the road for traffic. Habach allowed this, and Helmer started the car with no problem.

When Helmer told Habach that Plasters said he had passed him in a no-passing zone, he asked, “Is it a no-passing zone?” When Helmer said it is marked double yellow, which means no passing, Habach said “prove it.”

Helmer noted that the area has S curves that are marked double yellow.

Helmer noticed an open bottle of vodka in the back of Habach’s vehicle. Habach failed two of three field sobriety tests and submitted to a chemical test, which he passed.

Habach’s vehicle was towed. Damage was estimated at $5,000-$10,000.

• At 5:32 p.m. on Wednesday, Karen E. Czenalski, 45, Spencer, was southbound on U.S. 231 near County Road 800 South in a 2013 Ford F150. Phoenix N. Hartsburg, 21, Poland, was behind Czenalski in a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt.

Czenalski was stopped or slowing due to road construction in the area. Hartsburg failed to observe this and his truck rear-ended Czenalski’s vehicle.

Due to the vehicle size difference, damage was significant to Hartsburg’s car, which was towed.

Damage was estimated at $2,500-$5,000.

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.