Elwood enters change of plea

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

GREENCASTLE -- A Spencer man has pled guilty to carjacking.

Brandon L. Elwood, 24, will be sentenced on Feb. 24. Under the terms of a plea agreement, Elwood pled guilty to Class B felony carjacking, Class D felony resisting law enforcement and Class A misdemeanor operating a motor vehicle with at least .15 grams of alcohol in .210 liters of breath.

The plea agreement has been taken under advisement by Putnam County Circuit Court Judge Matthew Headley. If Headley accepts it, charges of Class D felonies battery by bodily waste, auto theft and theft, Class B misdemeanor criminal mischief and Class C misdemeanor operating while intoxicated will be dismissed.

If convicted on all charges in the plea agreement, Elwood could be sentenced to a maximum of 24 years in prison.

Elwood was set for trial on Feb. 16.

Elwood was arrested on Aug. 9 and has been in jail ever since, unable to come up with the $40,000 cash bond Headley set.

The charges against Elwood stem from an incident in which police were called to the Stardust Hills subdivision in Cloverdale to investigate a report of criminal mischief involving mailboxes being struck by a car.

Witnesses told police the car that hit the mailboxes was a silver Lincoln, they gave a description of the driver. Witnesses also said the driver of the car had been causing commotion in the subdivision.

Shortly after police took those reports, a call came in saying a carjacking had occurred on Burma Road.

The carjacking victim, who was driving a red Nissan, said he had seen a silver Lincoln in the ditch on C.R. 100E. He said he stopped to help , and that when he did the driver grabbed the victim's cell phone, punched him and took off with his car.

The description the carjacking victim gave of his assailant matched the description witnesses had given of the man who had been in Stardust Hills. The man was later apprehended and determined to be Elmore.

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