Police: Woman uses car, never returns
A North Vernon woman faces a felony in Brown County after police say she borrowed a vehicle from a friend and never brought it back.
Indiana State Police Trooper Matt Hatchett took the theft report on Dec. 23 at a home in the 5500 block of State Road 46.
The owner told Hatchett that he had allowed Lynette Larabee, 37, to drive his Mazda Tribute to Wal-Mart in Columbus on Dec. 20. He told Larabee to bring it back that night since he had to work in the morning, the police report states.
Larabee had reassured the owner she would have it back in time, but had yet to bring it back. He said Larabee had texted him various times since she had the vehicle, but stopped responding to texts the evening of Dec. 22.
The owner had to miss work due to Larabee having the vehicle. He told Hatchett he thought it was either in Jennings County or out of state in Kentucky or Tennessee.
On Jan. 2, the Seymour Police Department found the vehicle. Larabee was taken to the Brown County jail for an interview. She told police that the owner had asked for her to return it multiple times, but she did not know it had been reported stolen. She also denied knowing that the owner had posted about the stolen vehicle on Facebook, the affidavit states.
Larabee allowed Hatchett to look at the Facebook messages she had exchanged with the owner. In those messages, the owner told Larabee to bring the vehicle back in two hours or he would report it stolen.
Larabee was charged with auto theft, a Level 6 felony, on Jan. 3.
Man faces battery, intimidation charges
Police say a Brown County man hit a woman multiple times and entered a relative’s home without permission.
Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Colton Magner responded to a home in the 8500 block of State Road 135 North just before 8:30 p.m. Dec, 27 for a report of a battery that just occurred.
While en route, dispatch reported that the man, Jacob Ruckman, 37, had left the home, but later returned. Dispatch could hear what sounded like someone falling on the floor and told the officer that Ruckman had left with the victim of the domestic battery in a vehicle, the police report said.
A relative of Ruckman’s told police that the victim and Ruckman had picked her up from work about an hour earlier. She said she “immediately” noticed that Ruckman was being belligerent, aggressive and verbally abusive. That relative was then dropped off at another relative’s home, and within five minutes the victim returned to the home with visible swelling on her face, the affidavit states. The victim said that Ruckman had hit her in the face.
The other relative, whose home they were at, said that she tried to keep Ruckman from entering and told him to leave, but he forced his way through the door and pushed that relative into a table.
The victim told police that Ruckman hit her in her face, side and arm as she sat in the driver’s seat. He also punched her while she was driving on State Road 252 in Johnson County, causing her glasses to fall of her face, according to the affidavit.
While in the vehicle, they passed police cars with emergency lights on. Ruckman told the victim he would “snap her neck and kill her” if they were to be pulled over, the affidavit states.
Police found Ruckman at a home on Lower Owl Creek Road. Magner reported smelling alcohol on him. Ruckman told police he did not put his hands on anyone.
After being placed under arrest, Ruckman told police that his belly may have hit the relative preventing him from getting inside of her home due to his large frame. He said if he was going to put his hands on anybody, they would be in the hospital, the affidavit states.
EMS was dispatched to check the victim out, but she was not taken to a hospital.
Ruckman was charged on Dec. 28 with domestic battery, a Level 6 felony; intimidation, a Level 6 felony; and criminal trespass, a Class A misdemeanor.
Fight over alcohol ends in charges
CORDRY-SWEETWATER — An argument over a man drinking heavily on New Years Day resulted in his arrest for felony domestic battery and driving without a valid license.
Indiana State Police Trooper Matt Hattchett responded to a domestic disturbance in the 7200 block of Kiwi Drive just after 1 a.m. Jan. 1.
The victim told Hatchett that Richard Metsch, 55, had just left the home and that he had been drinking. She said the two began arguing about his recent alcohol consumption. When she confronted Metsch, he grabbed her right arm and threatened her with a hammer, the police report said. Once Metsch let go of the victim, she called police.
Metsch was a habitual traffic violator and Hatchett noted there was only one vehicle in the driveway.
The victim called police about a half-hour later to tell them that Metsch had returned. Hatchett wrote that Metsch appeared to be heavily intoxicated and was belligerent throughout their interaction.
He denied doing anything to the victim and said she had burnt him. Hatchett reported there were no recent injuries on Metsch.
Metsch also denied driving, but Hatchett reported seeing the vehicle in the driveway which the victim had said he would be driving.
Metsch was arrested and taken to the Brown County jail. On Jan. 2, he was charged with operating a vehicle as an habitual traffic violator, a Level 6 felony; and domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor. The Class A misdemeanor was elevated to a Level 6 felony because Metsch had been convicted of battery in an unrelated case in 2001.
Police: Alcohol was bought for minors
A Brown County woman faces a felony after police say she bought alcohol for minors last October.
Abigail Rankin, 35, was charged Nov. 30 with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a Level 6 felony, after an investigation conducted by Det. Brian Shrader with the Brown County Sheriff’s Department.
Shrader spoke with a 15-year-old girl in October who said that she and several friends decided to go to a 13th birthday party at a hotel in Nashville. Rankin and another man had rented a hotel room for the party.
The girl told Shrader that there were several juveniles there drinking while Rankin and the man were there. One juvenile had given Rankin money to buy alcohol. The only rule for the party was that no one was allowed to leave, the girl told police.
Around 4 a.m., the juvenile and others left to go to IHOP in Columbus, and Wal-Mart in Columbus and Franklin. The group dropped someone off in Morgantown before returning to the hotel. When they arrived, they saw that items they had brought to the party had been “torn up” because Rankin and the man were upset the group had left the hotel, the girl told police.
The group of juveniles left again. Two of them were reported as runaways the following day after they didn’t return home, the police report said.
Shrader verified that Rankin had rented the room on Sept. 21 and checked out the next day. He also reviewed security footage from CVS where he saw two juveniles walk into the alcohol aisle and they looked as if they had picked out a specific bottle they wanted after the aisle was clear.
About three hours later, Rankin was seen entering CVS and going directly to the liquor aisle. She then picked out a bottle of SVEDKA blue raspberry vodka and paid for it with cash. Shrader recognized a tattoo that Rankin had on the back of her neck in the security footage, his report said.
On Nov. 1, Shrader met with two other juveniles. Both said that Rankin and the man were in the hotel room, and one of the juveniles admitted to giving Rankin money for the vodka.
Charge filed after domestic disturbance
A report of a domestic disturbance on Spearsville Road resulted in a Brown County man’s arrest for marijuana possession.
Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Jimmy Green investigated the disturbance in the 9000 block on Dec. 31.
Green saw a clear bag containing marijuana on a chair at the dining room table, according to a probable cause affidavit by Deputy Colton Magner. When asked who the marijuana belonged to, Benjamin Harlow, 41, of Spearsville Road, said it was his. He was arrested.
On Jan. 3, Harlow was charged with a Class B misdemeanor.
