Collins denied transition program entrance

GREENCASTLE -- A Spencer man sentenced in Putnam County Circuit Court in May to a two-year prison sentence has been denied release into the Indiana Department of Correction's Community Transition Program.

Charles Collins, 42, was convicted on April 20, 2009 of Class D felony criminal confinement. Under the terms of a plea agreement, a charge of Class D felony strangulation against Collins was dropped.

Judge Matthew Headley sentenced Collins to three years at the DOC with two years executed and one year suspended with credit for 99 days served. Collins is currently incarcerated at the New Castle Correctional Facility. His earliest possible release date is listed on the DOC Web site as Feb. 16.

Had he been permitted to enter the community transition program, Collins would still have been considered a DOC inmate, but would have been placed on electronic home monitoring.

In August, Collins was released from jail early as the result of a typographical error. He was free for nine days before the mistake was discovered and corrected.

Collins was originally arrested and charged after a Jan. 17, 2009 incident in which he attacked and held a woman against her will, court documents said.

Collins was arrested in February. The victim told police Collins had held her hostage and beaten her in her apartment throughout the night before she reported the crime.

According to court documents, a witness saw Collins and the alleged victim outside the Marathon station just before the police were called. The witness said she saw an altercation between the alleged victim and Collins, and that the alleged victim "was obviously in distress, crying and appeared to have been beaten and was screaming for help and for someone to call the police."

The witness said Collins was grabbing the alleged victim while she struggled and screamed for help.

The victim was taken to the Putnam County Hospital where she was treated for injuries including black eyes, scratches to her stomach, inner foot, right chest and behind her right ear, bruising to her inner and upper arm and neck and scapula scrapes. She also sustained swelling to her lower lip and bridge of her nose, according to police reports.

Police went back to the alleged victim's apartment and determined that a struggle had taken place, court documents said.