Local man arrested soon after fleeing courthouse
A Greencastle man fled from the Putnam County Courthouse early Tuesday morning as authorities were attempting to arrest him on two outstanding warrants.
At 9:10 a.m., Matthew Featherston, 37, was in court on a child support case, when Putnam County Sheriff's Department court officers Danny Wallace and Mike O'Hair received a call from dispatch that Featherson had a parole violation as well as an outstanding warrant on an original charge of disorderly conduct.
"While he was in the middle of court, we received a call from dispatch that he had a parole warrant for him from down south," Wallace explained. "He also had a local warrant for him for some other charges."
As both officers were escorting Featherston out of the courtroom, Wallace noted that O'Hair was attempting to handcuff the man at the time he ran from the courthouse.
"When O'Hair started to cuff him, he just took off," Wallace explained. "He ran out of the courthouse, north down in between Jerry Hecko's building. We ended up finding him on top of a school bus down at the bus barn."
The officers waited outside of the bus barn, located at the corner of Jacob and Vine streets, until additional units arrived.
Officials were able to talk the man off the top of the bus before arresting him and charging him with resisting law enforcement.
Assisting at the scene was Putnam County Community Corrections, the Greencastle Police Department and Indiana State Excise Police.