Suspect in machete attack in custody

Saturday, January 30, 2021

FILLMORE — The Colorado man suspected of attacking another man with a machete is in custody.

The Putnam County Sheriff's Office announced Saturday morning that Stephen Taplin, 39, Colorado, had been captured.

Officers with the Greencastle Police Department located the suspect's vehicle around 2:30 a.m. Saturday, heading toward Greencastle on State Road 240 near Ballard Lane.

Stephen Taplin

The vehicle was stopped and Taplin was taken into custody without incident.

The situation began as an altercation between two men Friday morning in Fillmore. It resulted in the other man being seriously injured with a machete and Taplin fleeing north out of the eastern Putnam County town shortly before 8 a.m.

The victim was taken to an Indianapolis hospital for his injuries.

Though Taplin is described as being unfamiliar with the area, he was able to avoid discovery throughout Friday.

Now in custody, he was booked in the Putnam County Jail for Level 3 felony aggravated battery and Level 6 felony criminal recklessness. His bond is set at $30,000.

Meanwhile, PCSO detectives have continued to piece together what happened Friday morning, including executing a warrant on a vehicle that was seized from the property.

The minivan Taplin was driving was also seized and impounded for evidence.

Comments
View 2 comments
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
  • Exactly how much is $30,0000. :)

    -- Posted by Workingthesoil on Sat, Jan 30, 2021, at 9:28 AM
  • Hope bond was actually $300,000. One tenth of that is way too low.

    -- Posted by Ben Dover on Sat, Jan 30, 2021, at 3:15 PM
Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: