Putnam Scanner for May 19, 2023

County Jail

Six people were booked in the Putnam County Jail recently.

Wednesday

• At 8:27 p.m. Dustin L. Lalen, 44, Brazil, was lodged at the jail on a local warrant.

• At 2:10 p.m. Macey R. Richardson, 20, Fillmore, was taken into custody on a local warrant.

Monday

• At 10:11 p.m. Daniel W. Chasteen, 49, Plainfield, was housed at the jail for probation violation.

• At 7:17 p.m. James R. Masters, 26, Fillmore, was booked in for domestic battery in the presence of a child.

• At 3:27 p.m. Christopher I. Seaward, 20, Terre Haute, was lodged at the jail on a local warrant.

• At 2:55 p.m. Rebecca J. Wilson, 58, Greencastle, was taken into custody on a local warrant.

Sheriff’s Office

Putnam County sheriff’s deputies investigated four recent property-damage crashes.

• At 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, David H. Atchley, 97, Coatesville, was backing out of a parking space in the Greencastle Walmart parking lot in a 2000 Chevrolet Impala. Greencastle City Police Officer Bradford V. Hiatt, 43, Greencastle, was northbound in the lot in a 2023 Chevrolet Tahoe registered to the City of Greencastle.

Atchley told Deputy Derek Line he did not know there was a car behind him as he began to back out, and he backed into the front bumper of Hiatt’s vehicle with his own rear bumper.

Hiatt told Line he was responding without lights and siren to an incident in the parking lot and had just turned northbound when he noticed Atchley’s car exiting the space. He could not stop in time to avoid the collision.

There were no injuries.

Line estimated damage at $1,000-$2,500.

• At 4:46 a.m. on Monday, Teresa R. Goss, 60, Cloverdale, was traveling on U.S. 231 in a 2019 Jeep Cherokee. Michael A. Neiner, 40, Cloverdale, was behind Goss in a 2023 Kenworth T880 dump truck registered to Rox N. Dirt.

Goss said she crested a hill when she saw brake lights of a car that was turning. She braked and went to the shoulder to avoid a crash. However, Neiner did the same, and could not stop in time to avoid hitting Goss’ vehicle.

Sgt. Anthony Brown estimated damage at $2,500-$5,000.

• At 4:40 p.m. on Friday, May 12, Hailey F. Byrd, 21, Greencastle, was attempting to turn from eastbound U.S. 40 onto northbound County Road 75 West in a 2008 Kia Spectra.

In trying to do so, Byrd failed to yield right-of-way to a westbound 2015 Chevrolet Equinox driven by Linda Day, 50, Mooresville. The collision spun Byrd’s car onto 75 West, where it hit the side of a 2013 Chevrolet Equinox driven by Robin A. Hazelbaker, 65, Harmony, which was stopped southbound on 75 West.

There were no injuries, but Byrd’s and Day’s vehicles had to be towed.

Deputy Randy Patrick estimated damage at $10,000-$25,000.

• At 7:20 a.m. on Friday, May 12, Brenya G. Sanders, 17, Greencastle, was southbound on County Road 300 East in a 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix.

As she traveled, a school bus came over a rise in the roadway, and Sanders corrected back to her side of the road and hit a recent road repair that contributed to her leaving the road and going through a farm fence into a field.

The field was still wet from rain earlier in the morning. The car went into an uncontrolled skid and continued into a neighboring property, where it hit a pole of a pole barn and then went down a steep incline and onto its side, trapping the driver.

Sanders was extricated by Cloverdale Township and Greencastle firefighters and flown by Ascension St. Vincent StatFlight from South Putnam High School to an Indianapolis hospital.

The car was towed. Deputy Patrick estimated damage at $5,000-$10,000.

City Fire

The Greencastle Fire Department responded to five incidents since Monday afternoon:

• At 4:19 p.m. on Monday, GFD was dispatched to the DePauw University-owned duplex at 107 W. Hanna St. for an electrical hazard. Firefighters arrived at 4:21 and were advised by a student that a laptop had caught fire. They found burned carpet and bedding, while the student had a burned hand. The student refused treatment and the material was removed. GFD went back into service at 4:34 p.m.

• At 4:36 p.m. on Monday, GFD was dispatched to Sigma Alpha Epsilon at DePauw for a fire alarm. Firefighters arrived at 4:38 and determined the alarm was due to steam from a shower. The alarm system was reset. GFD went back into service at 4:45 p.m.

• At 9:17 p.m. on Monday, GFD was dispatched to the intersection of Jackson and Elizabeth streets for an outside fire. Firefighters arrived at 9:20 and found a makeshift campfire that had caught nearby brush. GFD’s brush truck was called and the fire was extinguished. GFD went back into service at 9:41 p.m.

• At 11:11 a.m. on Wednesday, GFD was dispatched for a dump truck on fire on Liberty Street. Firefighters arrived at 11:15 to one registered to Jack’s Trash Service and found that its headlight assembly had caught fire. The driver extinguished the fire prior to GFD’s arrival, and no hazards were found afterward. GFD went back into service at 11:25 a.m.

• At 4:45 a.m. on Thursday, GFD responded to a motor vehicle incident on South U.S. 231 just north of County Road 300 South. Firefighters arrived on the scene at 4:54 and cleaned up debris. GFD went back into service at 5:18 a.m.

Additionally, GFD responded for six medical assists, had one disregard and found no incident on one dispatch during this timeframe.

Information included in the Putnam Scanner is taken from reports provided to the Banner Graphic by the Greencastle Police, the Greencastle Fire and the Putnam County Sheriff’s departments.

Individuals listed in the blotter have been arrested on probable cause and have not been formally charged. Charging information may change after an initial arrest.

Questions about listed charging information should be directed to the arresting agency.