Roachdale man faces felony charge for baseball bat beating

Kenneth Henry

ROACHDALE -- A Saturday altercation in a rural Roachdale man's yard has him facing up to six years in prison after he allegedly struck a college student with a baseball bat.

Kenneth A. Henry, 42, is charged with battery by means of a deadly weapon, a Class C felony, after hitting Logan Cooper, 22, Indianapolis, in the side of the head with an aluminum bat.

The incident began around 5 p.m. Saturday evening when a group of five college students were en route back to Wabash College following the Monon Bell football game.

The group turned westbound off of U.S. 231 onto County Road 1350 North in the Raccoon area, pulling to the side of the road near the residence of Kenneth Henry and his brother Bob.

Three of the occupants of the vehicle went into the woods north of the road to urinate. However, Cooper took a few steps into Henry's front yard and began to relieve himself.

When Henry noticed what was happening, the trouble began.

Cooper and the other students told Deputy Philip Troyer of the Putnam County Sheriff's Department that as he was still urinating, he saw Henry come out of the house. Continuing to relieve himself, he apologized and then turned to leave.

As he walked away, they said, Henry swung the bat and hit Cooper in the side of the head, knocking him unconscious.

Cooper simply told Troyer "everything went black."

One of the witnesses said Henry went back inside and returned with a pistol.

The first call to Putnam County Dispatch about the incident came from an Illinois man who was westbound when he and his daughter saw five or six males in an altercation, "beating each other with a pole or bat."

The caller also said one man had a gun.

A short time later a call came in from Henry telling police about the altercation.

Based on witness statements, it is unclear how much further physical contact there was beyond the blow to Cooper's head.

Cooper advised that when he came to, everyone was arguing and he tried to break it up.

One of the other students told Troyer that after they had left the property, Henry continued to yell at them with the firearm still out. A neighbor offered help and let them into her house.

Scott Witty of the Roachdale Police Department was the first officer on the scene. When Witty arrived, Henry said he had struck a man with a bat.

Witty immediately handcuffed Henry and put him in the police vehicle.

Troyer arrived and spoke to Cooper in the neighbor's residence, finding him holding a gauze pad on the "significant lump" on the right side of his head.

PMH Ambulance examined Cooper, finding a laceration in addition to the lump. When his mother later arrived at the scene, Cooper denied transport, saying she would take him to the hospital.

Cooper submitted to a portable breath test, which yielded a .089 blood alcohol content. Troyer said none of the others smelled of alcohol.

Henry's account of what happened varied greatly from that of Cooper and the other witnesses.

In a written statement, Henry said he and his brother were putting things away after a trip to the store when the car stopped in front of the house.

When he asked what the man in his yard was doing, Henry said the man started cursing. He then said three more men got out of the vehicle, yelling and cursing.

He advised that he acted in self defense.

Henry said the men continued to curse him even as he was on the phone, at one point even threatening that he was "going to die like a fool."

"Mr. Henry kept stating that he didn't understand why he was being arrested," Troyer wrote, "that he did nothing wrong and that he was protecting himself."

Troyer also spoke with Bob Henry, who said he did not see anything.

The deputy transported Kenneth Henry to the Putnam County Jail, where he was booked in at 7:30 p.m.

On Monday, Henry was in Putnam Superior Court before Special Judge T. Edward Page, who entered a not guilty plea on Henry's behalf.

Although advised by Page not to discuss the particulars of Saturday's incident, Henry made one statement, consistent with his earlier account.

"I was afraid for my life when these guys started doing all that stuff," Henry said.

Henry told the court he would not be able to afford a lawyer or any fines without continuing his employment at Great Dane in Brazil.

"I'm not concerned about you paying us," Judge Page said. "I'm concerned about keeping you employed."

Deliberating over the merits of setting a bond amount or releasing Henry on his own recognizance to keep him working, Page turned to Deputy Prosecutor James Hanner.

"The victim's a Wabash student. I doubt he hangs around there much," Hanner said.

Page chose to release Henry, issuing a no-contact order and speaking to Bob Henry about keeping his brother out of trouble.

Henry will be back in court for a Jan. 8, 2014 pre-trial conference with Eddie Felling as his public defender.