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Arrests made in shooting case
GREENCASTLE -- Three people have been arrested in connection with a Tuesday morning shooting incident in Greencastle.
Justin Hargrove 24, of Greencastle, has been charged with attempted murder and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon; Michael Pryor, 18, of Coatesville has been charged with criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon; and Lacey Couch, 23, of Greencastle has been charged with resisting law enforcement, assisting a criminal and child neglect, Greencastle Police Department Chief Tom Sutherlin said.
Couch was the driver of the vehicle.
Two other people are being considered persons of interest in the case, but no charges have been filed.
Sutherlin intimated that drugs or alcohol may have played a role in the incident.
Sutherlin said it should be noted that all charges are preliminary charges, and that information will now be forwarded to the Putnam County Prosecutor's Office.
The original call in the case came in as "shots fired" at about 1:41 a.m. Several calls came in to dispatch around that time from Columbia and West Walnut streets and Rockville Road.
"Reporting parties advised dispatch of approximately four to six shots being fired, and that the shots sounded like a high-powered rifle," Greencastle Police Department Chief Tom Sutherlin said.
Marian Abowitz, who lives near one of the places where shots were reported, said she was awakened by the sound of shots between 1 and 1:30 a.m. The sound also woke her dog, who "went ballistic."
"I heard a pop,pop,pop,pop,pop," she said. "It happened so many times that I knew it wasn't just a car."
Three or four minutes later, Abowitz said, she heard the same sound, but it was further down Walnut Street. She then heard it again a couple of minutes later, but it was further away yet and "almost imperceptible."
"It didn't occur to me to call the police," she said. "I figured it was just some kids on a crazy, stupid joyride. I thought they were probably just firing at signs or mailboxes."
Witnesses told officers the shooter was a passenger in a dark-colored car, possibly green, and that the vehicle had four doors.
At 1:49 a.m., dispatch received a call from an individual in the area of Washington and Madison streets that said they had heard four to six shots fired and had seen a green vehicle leave the area at a high rate of speed.
At about 2:06 a.m., Putnam County Sheriff's Department Reserve Deputy Matt Biggs saw a vehicle matching the description of the shooter's vehicle at the intersection of Bloomington and Washington streets. Biggs began driving behind the vehicle and attempted to make a traffic stop at the intersection of Franklin and Durham streets.
"Biggs advised that the passenger exited the suspect vehicle and fired approximately two or three rounds at his police vehicle," Sutherlin said. "Biggs advised that one round struck the police vehicle's hood and ricocheted into the windshield."
Biggs was not injured. He confirmed that the weapon the suspect used was a rifle, Sutherlin said.
After the suspect shot at Biggs, a vehicle pursuit ensued eastbound on Franklin Street and then north on Arlington Street. Biggs lost sight of the suspect vehicle, but at the intersection of Cameron and Arlington streets he observed what he believed to be the same suspect that had fired at his vehicle running on foot. Biggs chased the suspect on foot for a short distance before losing sight of him, Sutherlin said.
Police set up a mobile command unit in the parking lot of the National Guard Armory on Arlington Street. They worked from that location until about 7 a.m., Sutherlin said.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the Putnam County 911 Dispatch Center at 653-5115 or the Greencastle Police Department at 653-2925.
Greencastle Schools were originally on a two-hour delay. At about 9 a.m., officials made the decision to cancel classes for the day.