Wells Superior Court
Criminal Cases
Christopher Matthew Bridges, 36, Indianapolis, pleaded guilty to driving while suspended with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor.
Ordered to serve six days in the Wells County Jail and pay court costs of $185.50. Credited for two days spent in confinement awaiting disposition of his case.
Charges of operating a motor vehicle without insurance, a Class A infraction and operating a motor vehicle with a false and/or fictitious license plate, a Class C infraction, were dismissed.
Bridges brought a patient to the Praxis rehabilitation facility in Bluffton around midnight Jan. 6. Apparently it was too late to check in the female patient, so they went north on Main Street to Comfort Inn and Suites to try and find a room for the night.
However, as they were driving north on Main Street, a sheriff’s deputy decided to run the license plate on the back of the Chevrolet Suburban Bridges was driving and discovered the plate actually belonged on a Chevrolet HHR. He pulled the vehicle over in the parking lot of the motel.
There the deputy reported discovering that Bridges had a suspended driver’s license and no insurance for the vehicle he was driving.
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Rita Ann Bollenbacher, 50, Berne, pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of .08 percent or more with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Level 6 felony.
Sentenced to two years in prison, with all but 10 days suspended, and placed on probation for 720 days. The 10 days is to be served at the Wells County Jail, however in lieu of jail, Bollenbacher was ordered to serve 60 days of home detention.
Ordered to undergo substance abuse counseling, submit a DNA sample, pay the costs associated with her blood test, court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, charges of stop lamp projecting white light, improper display of license plate — not hung properly or somehow obscured, improper display of license plate — renewal sticker not affixed to the license plate, no driver’s license in her possession, and failure to provide a vehicle registration certificate when requested by a law enforcement officer, all Class C infractions, were dismissed.
While patrolling Main Street near Spring Street Sept. 25, 2021, a sheriff’s deputy noticed that a 1994 Ford Ranger pickup truck ahead of him had a broken taillight that was emitting bright white light. He also observed that there was a trailer ball mounted to the rear of the truck that was obstructing view of the license plate. The sticker on the plate showed it had expired in February.
The deputy noted in his report that Bollenbacher smelled of alcohol, failed field sobriety tests and blew a .118 percent alcohol concentration equivalency on a Breathalyzer test.
The legal limit for intoxication in Indiana is .08 percent.
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Adan A. Gonzalez Garcia, 24, Fort Wayne, pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor.
Sentenced to 180 days in the Wells County Jail, with all but two days suspended — credited as time served. Placed on probation for 363 days.
Ordered to serve 60 days of home detention and pay court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, charges of driving while suspended, a Class A infraction, and speeding, a Class C infraction, were dismissed.
On Nov. 7, 2021, a state police trooper received a report of a driving complaint on a vehicle headed north on Ind. 1. At Kingsland Crossing, the vehicle passed by the trooper.
The trooper followed the vehicle and pulled it over after clocking it at 50 mph-45 zone in Ossian.
The trooper asked Garcia if he had any marijuana in the vehicle. Garcia allegedly replied, “Yeah” and handed the trooper a small plastic bag of a green leafy substance with the odor and appearance of marijuana.
During a search of the vehicle, a second bag of marijuana was located in the cupholder of the vehicle.
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Jacob Earl Studebaker, 24, rural Liberty Center, pleaded guilty to possession of a narcotic drug and unlawful possession or use of a legend drug, both Level 6 felonies.
Sentenced to 912 days in prison, with the term of the sentence to be served consecutively with a 28-day term meted for violating probation from an April 29, 2021, conviction for theft, a Class A misdemeanor. The 28 days was credited as time served.
The 912 days was suspended entirely and Studebaker was placed on probation for 912 days.
Ordered to undergo treatment at The Bowen Center, submit a DNA sample, and pay court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, charges of possession of a hypodermic syringe, a Level 6 felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor, were dismissed.
On Oct. 12, 2021, sheriff’s deputies and Wells County EMS responded to Studebaker’s residence on a report of a drug overdose. He was eventually revived and transported by EMS to Bluffton Regional Medical Center.
Studabaker’s probation officer requested that the camper trailer, where Studabaker had been living, be searched. A plastic bag containing a capsule of the prescription pain medication gabapentin was retrieved from the camper and provided to sheriff’s deputies by a relative. The bag also contained cotton balls and caps to hypodermic syringes.
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Christopher A. Williamson, 42, Ossian, violated probation by being charged with driving while suspended with a prior conviction, a Class A misdemeanor.
Ordered to serve 30 days in the Wells County Jail and pay court costs and probation fees.
Upon completion of his term of incarceration, his probation will terminate.
The charge of driving while suspended that resulted in Williams’ having his probation revoked was subsequently dismissed.
Williamson was originally placed on probation following an Aug. 11, 2020, conviction for driving while suspended with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor.
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Brandon Michael Shockome, 29, Lafontaine, pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of .15 percent or more with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Level 6 felony.
Sentenced to 547 days in prison. Credited for 196 days spent in confinement awaiting disposition of his case. Assessed court costs and fees.
As part of a plea agreement, charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Level 6 felony; driving while suspended with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor; and failure to appear in court for a hearing on the charges, a Level 6 felony, were all dismissed.
On March 20, 2020, at 7:26 p.m., law enforcement received a report that a man passed out at the Bummies restaurant on Bluffton’s south side, then recovered and then drove to the parking lot of the nearby CVS pharmacy.
Bluffton police and Wells County Sheriff’s deputies responded and located Shockome and spoke with him. He smelled of alcohol and appeared intoxicated. A deputy administered a field sobriety test which Shockome reportedly failed. He also tested .258 percent alcohol concentration equivalency on a Breathalyzer test.
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Cynthia Marie Cushing, 33, Ossian, pleaded guilty to theft with a prior conviction for the same or a similar offense, a Level 6 felony.
Sentencing set for 8:30 a.m. April 5.
Infractions
Judgment of $14.50 and court costs of $135.50 entered against Catarino Ybarra III, 40, rural Bluffton, charged with distracted driving and driving while suspended.
