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Brown charged with four felonies for recent exploits
Already arrested on two warrants Sunday evening, a Greencastle man now faces four additional felony charges and one misdemeanor after he evaded capture by police for 11 days.
Jeffrey Brown, 41, was arrested by Putnam County sheriff’s deputies on Sunday after he successfully got away from them on Wednesday, Jan. 8.
Brown now faces five new criminal charges based on these two incidents.
From the Jan. 8 incident, he faces two Level 6 felony counts of resisting law enforcement with a vehicle and another count of Level 6 felony auto theft.
From Sunday, when he ran from police but did not get away, he is charged with Level 6 felony resisting law enforcement and Level 5 felony carrying a handgun with a prior felony conviction.
Putnam County Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter formally filed the charges against Brown on Tuesday, as well as charges against several others related to the case.
The original incident began when detectives from the sheriff’s department attempted to arrest Brown for the two warrants in Greencastle. Brown fled, eventually traveling west out of the city.
In the process, Brown wrecked the car he was driving and allegedly stole a utility truck from a crew working on the Saddle Club Road bridge over CSX Railroad.
He later abandoned the vehicle near Croy’s Creek Christian Church in southern Washington Township.
A manhunt continued into the evening involving multiple police agencies, but officers could not locate Brown.
On Sunday, however, deputies served a warrant on a residence in Clinton Township belonging to Joseph Sutherlin, 34, Greencastle, finding evidence that Brown had been there as well as narcotics and paraphernalia.
Deputies then staked out the area. Shortly after 9 p.m., Sgt. Kyle Gibbons spotted a truck he knew to be owned by Brown’s son.
Gibbons initiated a traffic stop, but the vehicle took its time in stopping. When it did, a man in a woman’s wig, later revealed to be Brown, took off from the rear passenger door.
Sgt. Riley Houghton and Deputy Riley Houghton immediately took off after him, catching up with him a short distance later.
Gibbons stayed with the vehicle and identified the other three occupants as Hope Rush, who is Brown’s girlfriend; Isabella Brown, Jeffrey Brown’s daughter; and Robert Buskirk, Isabella Brown’s boyfriend.
All three were arrested on charges of assisting a criminal.
On Tuesday, the prosecutor’s office filed Level 6 felony assisting a criminal charges against Rush and Buskirk. It is unclear if charges are also pending against Isabella Brown.
Based on the deputies’ initial search of the house for Brown, they applied for another search warrant and located drugs and paraphernalia inside the Sutherlin home.
Formal charges were brought against three other individuals on drug charges Tuesday:
• Joseph Sutherlin, 34, Greencastle, Level 4 felony possession of methamphetamine between 10 and 28 grams, Level 6 felony possession of cocaine and Class C misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia.
• Sara J. Sutherlin, 32, Greencastle, Level 5 felony possession of methamphetamine between five and 10 grams and Level 6 felony possession of cocaine.
• Haylee M. Parrish, 31, Greencastle, Level 6 felony possession of methamphetmine less than five grams and Level 6 felony possession of cocaine.