Man sentenced 13 years after arrest

Friday, October 2, 2009

GREENCASTLE -- A former Greencastle resident was sentenced in Putnam County Circuit Court Thursday for a crime he committed 13 years ago.

James Brent Alexander, 46, was charged with Class C felony robbery and Class A misdemeanor battery resulting in bodily injury on Aug. 31, 1996. He disappeared before he could be sentenced, and authorities could not locate him.

This past March, authorities in Marion County located Alexander in an Indianapolis trailer court, Putnam County Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter said. Alexander gave officers his brother's identification as his own -- only to find out there was an active warrant for his brother's arrest.

Alexander was transported back to Putnam County to face the old charges, and on March 17 Judge Matthew Headley set his bond at $50,000 cash only.

Bookwalter said Alexander's charges stemmed from an incident in which he took a man somewhere in his car, then proceeded to batter and rob him.

Putnam County Probation Officer Teresa Parrish recommended Alexander be sentenced to time served, pointing out that the reason he was able to fly under the radar for over a decade was that he stayed out of trouble.

"He has told the truth and tried to change his life around," she said.

Alexander's court-appointed attorney James Recker called his client "a good candidate for probation." Recker said Alexander's significant other of 12 years was gravely ill, and that Alexander was her primary caregiver and he was "needed at home."

"This is a very old case," Recker said. "His spending 200 days in jail wouldn't serve the purposes of justice."

In the end, Headley didn't agree. Under the terms of a plea agreement, Alexander was convicted of a Class D felony punishable by a maximum of three years, and Headley sentenced him to two years and three months with two years executed.

Alexander will receive credit for 410 days, a combination of time he spent in jail after his initial arrest in 1996 and his last arrest in March.

Headley asked Alexander when the last time he had filed a federal tax return was, and Alexander said it was in 1994.

When he was located in March, a scuffle ensued in which Alexander was shot with a Taser. When he is done serving his Putnam County sentence, he will face resisting law enforcement charges in Marion County, Bookwalter said.

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  • He disappeared before he could be sentenced, and authorities could not locate him.

    Judge Matthew Headley set his bond at $50,000 cash only.

    does that make any cents?

    -- Posted by Sand mann on Fri, Oct 2, 2009, at 8:12 AM
  • $50,000 cash would make a lot of cents...

    -- Posted by chp on Sun, Oct 4, 2009, at 4:58 PM
  • 5,000,000 of them, to be exact. I know this is probably beyond your comprehension, but you did ask...

    -- Posted by chp on Sun, Oct 4, 2009, at 5:05 PM
  • chazm_vet ,

    there are alot of things beyond my comprehension, how welfare exists whith no remorse, taxes keep going up , bhaving a smart a** and the the rest is just plain stupid. And I don't think I will ever know. but this has nothing to do with the article with the exception of a retard comment. good luck

    -- Posted by Sand mann on Wed, Oct 7, 2009, at 2:31 PM
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