Ill-conceived fishing trip lands dad in jail
Hoping to be "the cool dad" and take his kids fishing, a 45-year-old Greencastle man instead wound up in hot water.
And as a result, William Ray Jordan Jr. is facing multiple criminal charges -- among them neglect of dependents -- following his arrest at 5 p.m. Saturday at Jaycee Park by Sgt. Ed Wilson.
Wilson was called to Jaycee Park, 1681 E. CR 225 South, after Jordan reportedly called his wife and told her he had been injured in an accident. She, in turn, called Putnam County Dispatch.
When Wilson arrived, he found Jordan and his two children, ages 8 and 10, at the front entrance to the rural Greencastle park that had come under some scrutiny earlier this year for other nefarious incidents reported by neighbors.
Seeing the police officer, Jordan suggested he was about to be arrested. Asked why he thought that, he reportedly said, "because I'm intoxicated."
A portable breathalyzer test confirmed exactly that, producing a .24 percent blood-alcohol result -- three times the legal limit of intoxication -- for Jordan.
Originally taken to Putnam County Hospital by Operation Life ambulance, Jordan was subsequently arrested at the hospital and then lodged at the Putnam County Jail for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, reckless driving, endangerment with a vehicle/neglect of a dependent and criminal mischief.
When police arrived at the closed city park, Jordan's red Ford Explorer was found wedged against a power pole inside the locked gate of the secluded park, the pole damaging the passenger side in what was termed a violent collision.
Wilson's investigation showed that Jordan apparently had done a doughnut-style burn-out in the rear gravel parking lot before fishtailing into the grass as he drove toward the entrance. Tracks in the grass and mud were consistent with the vehicle being driven at a high rate of speed and fishtailing, Wilson reported.
Sgt. Wilson was assisted by Officers Darrel Bunten and Josh Smith.