Putnam Scanner for July 27, 2021

County Jail

Six people were booked in the Putnam County Jail recently.

Monday

• At 5:12 a.m. Rosario R. Vela Jr., 42, Indianapolis, was housed at the jail on a warrant for nonsupport of a dependent.

Sunday

• At 6:54 p.m. Dustin M. Tippin, 45, Greencastle, was booked in on a warrant.

• At 1:15 a.m. Hernan M. Garcia Castellon, 42, Indianapolis, was lodged at the jail for driving while intoxicated.

Friday

• At 1:42 a.m. Joshua A. Keers, 29, Fillmore, was taken into custody for domestic battery.

Thursday

• At 11:49 p.m. Zachary A. Nichols, 22, Cloverdale, was housed at the jail on a warrant.

• At 12:54 p.m. Victoria L. Wyatt, 27, Indianapolis, was booked in on a warrant.

City Police

Four recent accidents were investigated by Greencastle City Police officers.

• At 1:17 p.m. Friday, a two-car mishap was reported at Bloomington and Hanna streets.

Officer Nick Eastham reported that Emilee Long, 43, Greencastle, was turning out of the Pizza King driveway in a 2016 Buick Lacrosse while Johnathan Hyde, 18, was southbound on Bloomington Street, approaching Hanna.

Long said she observed a FedEx truck delivering to her nearby residence, and when she looked for traffic she saw none until her car was struck by Hyde’s 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix. Long claimed that Hyde was traveling at a high rate of speed.

Hyde said he was southbound and when Long pulled out in front of him, he could not avoid the collision.

Total damage was estimated $2,500-$5,000.

• At 5:49 a.m. Wednesday, July 21, a two-vehicle accident at Indianapolis Road and Veterans Highway resulted in a second accident five minutes later.

Autumn Payne, 25, Brazil was eastbound on Indianapolis Road, Officer Darrel Bunten reported, approaching Indianapolis Road when she was rear-ended by a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Jacob Allen, 24, Coatesville. Allen said he passed through intersection on a green light when Payne slowed down and blew her horn and was struck in the rear.

Payne said Allen ran the red light and brake-checked her twice, striking her car in the rear each time.

Total damage in the mishap was listed at $5,000-$10,000.

• At 5:54 a.m. Wednesday, July 21 the earlier accident resulted in a second mishap at Indianapolis Road and Veterans Highway as Cynthia Fiscus, 34, Greencastle, had stopped her 2020 Chevrolet Malibu because of the crash in front of her.

Michael Fraizer, 24, Greencastle, rear-ended the Fiscus car, Sgt. Ed Wilson reported, because Fraizer had fallen asleep at the wheel.

Total damage in the accident was listed at $2,500-$5,000.

• At 3:45 p.m. July 20, a two-vehicle mishap occurred on the McDonald’s lot off Indianapolis Road.

Capt. Chris Jones reported that Lane Sumners, 18, Greencastle, was backing a 1992 Ford F-150 truck from a parking space on the north side of the lot and did not see that Patricia Gardner, 64, Greencastle, had stopped her 2005 Buick Lacrosse due to another car backing out of a spot.

Total damage was estimated at $1,000-$2,500.

Sumners was cited for having no proof of liability (no insurance).

Two summons were issued recently by city officers.

• At 1:21 p.m. Saturday, Michael Thompson, 29, Brazil, was cited by Officer Eastham.

Stopped on Veterans Memorial Highway, Thompson was issued a summons into court for driving with a suspended license with a prior offense.

• At 12:46 a.m. Friday, Ezekiel Salinas, 21, Lafayette, was cited by Officer Luke Brown.

Stopped on U.S. 231 South, Salinas was issued a summons into court for driving with a suspended license with a prior offense.

Sheriff’s Office

Putnam County sheriff’s deputies investigated a pair of recent property-damage crashes.

• At 8 a.m. on Friday, Shawn Skiles, 22, Indianapolis, was eastbound on County Road 500 North in a 2020 Dodge Ram when he hit a deer.

Deputy Tanner Brown estimated damage at $5,000-$10,000.

• A Coatesville man was charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief and leaving the scene of a property-damage crash following a Monday, July 19 incident.

The owner of the property at 7038 N. CR 900 East first notified police that he returned home to find someone had damaged his yard and landscaping.

Deputy Robert Soilleux arrived to find that a vehicle had been southbound on 900 East when it drove off the west side of the road and hit a larger boulder north of the driveway, moving it 11 feet into the middle of the driveway.

The tire marks continued across the driveway and along the yard for about another 20 feet before entering the roadway again. It then appeared that the vehicle backed up to the tree it had just missed colliding with, also damaging the tree.

At the base of the tree, Soilleux located a broken piece of chain as well as two different thicknesses of broken tie-down strapping, knotted together. Just farther south a large cut-up piece of scrap metal and other metal and car parts were located.

Tire marks and deep gouges then continue south to the intersection of 900 East and U.S. 36, where they make a U-turn and head back north.

Soilleux followed the trail of fluids, pieces of shredded tire, scrap metal and deep gouges in the road about two miles north to County Road 900 North, where they went east for a little more than two more miles.

At this point, the marks turned south and into two yards located at 6800 E. CR 900 North and 8965 N. CR 675 East before coming to a stop behind the old World of Faith Ministries Church at 8939 N. CR 675 East, Roachdale.

Witnesses told Soilleux they saw 37-year-old Brandon C. Dunagan at the scene, driving away from the scene and then arriving home. The original accident apparently happened in a 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe, with the vehicle then pulled home with a flatbed truck.

At the home, Soilleux found a heavily damaged tandem flatbed with no plate hauling a yellow Ford Escape and various pieces of scrap, but no sign of the black Tahoe or of Dunagan.

City Fire

The Greencastle Fire Department responded to two recent incidents:

• At 10:01 p.m. on Saturday, GFD was dispatched to Alpha Chi Omega on the DePauw University campus for a fire alarm. Firefighters arrived at 10:04 and found no cause for the alarm. The alarm was reset. GFD went back into service at 10:16 p.m.

• At 4:32 a.m. on Monday, GFD was dispatched to 1111 Avenue C for a smoke alarm. Firefighters arrived at 4:37 and determined the alarm was faulty. The alarm was taken out of service. GFD went back into service at 5:03 a.m.

Additionally, GFD recently performed 13 medical assists and had one disregard.

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.