INCIDENTS
City:
Friday, 5:04 p.m., Short Stop convenience store parking lot. Bluffton police officer pulled over a Ford four-wheel drive pickup truck after receiving a complaint about erratic driving. Daniel W. Driver, 50, rural Yoder, was arrested on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Class A misdemeanor, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Level 6 felony. Bond set at $5,000.
Friday, 5:58 p.m., residence in the 300 block of West Miller Street. Loud verbal altercation between a woman and a man and a woman. The first time around the situation was calmed. Officers and deputies responded again to the same residence at 9:50 p.m. The time around, the woman, identified as Sequoia Michelle Kennedy, 27, Bluffton, was charged with strangulation, a Level 6 felony; domestic battery, a Level 6 felony; and domestic battery, a Class B misdemeanor. Bond set at $36,000
Friday, 7:38 p.m., residence in the 400 block of East Wiley Avenue. Caller reported a man in a black T-shirt and khaki pants appeared to be under the influence of some substance was on the neighbor’s porch. He left westbound on a bicycle on Wiley. Officer checked the area but saw no one who matched the description.
Friday, 8:57 p.m., apartment in the 500 block of West Market Street. Caller reported there was a man outside of the residence trying to take the caller’s girlfriend’s car. The man reportedly came inside the caller’s residence and punched her in the face before leaving. Victor Mandell Thomas, 50, Bluffton, was arrested on one count of battery causing bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor. Bond set at $25,000.
Saturday, 12:31 a.m., Main Street at Wabash Street. Officer pulled over a vehicle and arrested Vicki Lynn Wilson, 55, Bluffton, on one count of possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor.
Saturday, 2:18 a.m. 5:26 a.m., and Sunday, 5:06 a.m. Dollar General, 123 West Market St. Burglar alarm. Officers responded. No sign of foul play found any of the three times.
Saturday, 8:19 a.m., residence in the 200 block of East Wabash Street. Report of an altercation between a man and a woman. Officers responded.
Saturday, 9:17 a.m., residence in the 500 block of South Main Street. Officers detained a 13-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy for attempting to break into the residence.
Saturday, 10:41 a.m., residence in the 100 block of North Main Street. Woman reported the neighbor’s children keep throwing things over her fence.
Saturday, 1:17 p.m., Praxis substance abuse treatment facility, 1529 W. Lancaster St. Report of an unruly and violent patient. Officers responded. The man was transported to a location to await a ride back home.
Saturday, 5:31 p.m., Kroger grocery store, 1555 S. Harrison Plaza. Report of a man inside the grocery store who had just left the Praxis substance abuse treatment facility and appeared to be under the influence of an illegal substance. He was refusing to leave. (This is a different person from the previous call.) Officers responded. His mother arrived and picked him up.
Saturday, 9:36 p.m., Roush Park, 925 W. Silver St. report of juveniles being aggressive with each other near the splash pad. Officers responded.
Saturday, 11:02 p.m., residence in the 200 block of East Arnold Street. Caller reported his daughter kept hearing voices outside of her residence. Officers responded. No one found.
Sunday, 1:18 a.m., Taco Bell, 628 N. Main St. Report of a suspicious Chrysler PT Cruiser parked in the restaurant’s parking lot. Officer responded. The vehicle left.
Sunday, 3:29 a.m., apartment at Pine Grove. Altercation between a man and a woman. The male half, Carter Alexander Mealer, 24, Bluffton, was charged with domestic battery, a Level 6 felony. The female half, Brooke Lynn McClelland, 20, Bluffton, was charged with minor in possession of alcohol. She was released on her own recognizance.
Sunday, 11:13 a.m., 1st Source Bank. Officers assisted a cleaning woman with getting her cleaning items out of the bank after she accidentally locked herself out of the bank.
Sunday, 11:46 a.m., Short Stop convenience store, 1009 N. Main St. Panhandler asking customers for money. Officer responded. He had left before the officer arrived. He returned around 4 p.m. and an officer warned him for trespassing at the convenience store.
Sunday, 1:41 p.m., Main Street south of Washington Street. Report of a broken down vehicle with someone under the vehicle working on it. Officer responded. Towing company contacted.
Sunday, 2:08 p.m., Praxis substance abuse treatment facility. Officers requested for a patient who attempted self-harm. The male patient was transported to Parkview Behavioral Health.
Sunday, 2:47 p.m., Walmart Supercenter, 2100 N. Main St. Someone left two dogs locked up in a van on a hot day.
Sunday, 7:11 p.m., residence in the 600 block of Beth Avenue. Woman reported her neighbor’s teenage son pointed a BB gun at her children. Officer responded but the teen had left.
Sunday, 9:21 p.m., residence in the 900 block of Eastmoor Drive. Officer requested to assist in a custody exchange.
Sunday, 10:07 p.m., Family Farm and Home, 990 N. Main St. Report of four juveniles jumping onto and off the items in the parking lot. Officer arrived, spoke with the juveniles and told them to leave.
Sunday, 10:43 p.m., residence in the 600 block of South Bond Street. Officer requested to remove an unwanted man from the residence. He was advised to leave and reportedly a short time later was reported to be walking south on Bond Street yelling and screaming. He was not doing it when an officer showed up again.
County:
Friday, 9:12 a.m., panic alarm, residence on 900N east of 400E. Ossian police officer responded. Alarm accidentally tripped.
Friday, 10:41 p.m., TTG, 5068E-100N. Caller reported seeing a truck drive to the back of the farm equipment dealer building and noticed that it was not a TTG truck. Sheriff’s deputy responded. It was someone delivering parts.
Friday, 10:56 p.m., Ind. 116 near 250N. Someone driving a yell skid-steer loader down the highway and the caller thought it was suspicious because of the hour. Sheriff’s deputy responded and spoke with the skid steer driver who said he had permission to move it.
Saturday, 1:12 a.m., Ind. 1 between 300N and 350N. Dead tree limb hanging about windshield height over the southbound lane of the highway. Deputy responded and removed the tree limb.
Saturday, 7:52 a.m., Ind. 1 north of 700N. Report of a dead pit bull in the middle of the road. Deputy responded, pulled the carcass off the road and set about finding the dog’s owners.
Saturday, 2:18 p.m., Ind. 124 just west of 500E. Someone moved the road closed signs. Deputy responded and moved them right back again.
Saturday, 10:23 p.m., Rose Road near 100E. While on patrol, a sheriff’s deputy spotted a parked vehicle with a man and a woman inside the vehicle. Rose Road is a secluded area notorious for nefarious activity. The deputy spoke with the couple who advised they were talking. They were advised to move along.
Sunday, 9 a.m., residence on 800S west of 1000W in Jackson Township. Deputy investigated a report of property damage.
Sunday, 3:53 p.m., residence on Ind. 1 south of 700N. Burglar alarm. Deputy responded. Alarm accidentally tripped.
Ossian:
Saturday, 4:34 a.m., Ossian Deli, 404 N. Jefferson St. Sheriff’s deputy, while on patrol, drove to the deli to get a soft drink and spotted a man who appeared to be staring at him. The deputy decided to perform a license plate check on the 1999 Mitsubishi the man was in and discovered that the registered owner, Matthew Springer, 45, Roanoke, had a suspended driver’s license. Shortly afterward, the Mitsubishi left the parking lot of the deli but was pulled over at Jefferson and Craig streets by a second deputy. The driver turned out to be Springer and he reportedly had multiple suspensions against his driver’s license with eligibility to reinstate his license not until 2024. He was arrested on one count of driving while suspended with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor, and operating a vehicle without financial responsibility with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class C misdemeanor. He was released on his own recognizance.
Saturday, 3:35 p.m., two deputies were at Welches All Vehicle Repair on North Jefferson Street when they were approached by a man who said that across the street there was a woman who had driven up the deli, exited and was now inside the store and she was very obviously intoxicated. The deputies looked over in time to see a woman matching the description who appeared to be intoxicated, exit the deli, get into a vehicle and drive away. The deputies then pulled her vehicle over in the parking lot of the Ginger Fresh Market. Charity L. Ross, 46, rural Yoder, reportedly smelled of alcohol, appeared intoxicated, failed field sobriety tests and blew a .303 percent alcohol concentration equivalency on a Breathalyzer test, which is more than three times Indiana’s legal limit for intoxication of .08 percent. Ross was charged with operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of .15 percent or more with a prior conviction for the same or a similar offense, operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person with a prior conviction for the same offense and operating a motor vehicle after having been found to be an habitual traffic violator, all Level 6 felonies. Bond was set at $10,000.
ACCIDENTS
City:
Thursday, 10:08 p.m., Main Street just north of Capri Court. Kayla L. Frayley, 19, rural Ossian, was driving north on Main Street in a 2011 Ford Fusion. William B. Upp, 56, rural Portland, was also northbound on Main Street in a 2006 Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck. Upp was in one lane, Frayley was in the adjacent lane. Each accused the other of causing the accident by drifting into the adjacent lane. Damage exceeded $5,000.
County:
Friday, 6:15 a.m., Ind. 1 at 1050N. Jerry L. Simerman, 47, Ossian, was northbound on Ind. 1 on a 2014 Kawasaki KLR650 motorcycle. He failed to notice loose gravel on 1050 and spilled the motorcycle onto its side. Simerman was not injured. Damage exceeded $1,000.
Saturday, 3 a.m., Ind. 1. Veronica Velosa, 48, Bluffton, hit a deer with her 2022 Honda HR-V. Damage to the van exceeded $2,500.
Monday, 9:41 a.m., 700E (old Ind. 301) at 100N south of Craigville. Shannon B. Kiess, 26, Bluffton, was driving a 2008 Toyota Prius east on 100N when she stopped for 700E. Anthony W. Beer, 55, rural Monroe, was driving a 2016 Ford F-550 flatbed truck south on 700E pulling a trailer registered to Helena Agri-Enterprises, Collierville Tenn. Alan G. Ringger, 72, rural Bluffton, was driving a 2016 Ford Edge north on 700E and was stopped at the intersection awaiting Beer to clear so he could make a left turn onto 100N. Kiess then entered the intersection, collided with the Ford F-550 causing it to swerve across the center line and the trailer it was pulling to crash into Ringger’s sport utility vehicle. After impact, the Ford F-550 left the southwest corner of the intersection and collided with two trees in the front yard of Robert and Jenni Hoover, 0950N-700E. The truck then rolled onto its side. Kiess and Beer were both injured in the crash. Damage exceeded $2,500.
FIRES
Saturday, 3:01 a.m., 307 Toll Circle. Large tree fell dragging down power lines, snapping a Bluffton utility pole and catching the tree on fire. Bluffton Fire Department dispatched. Bluffton Utilities electric company contacted.
TICKETS
Kiersten M. Krueger, 17, Bluffton; improper turn, Ind. 116 at 100N.
Yae Min Paing, 28, Fort Wayne; 53 mph-40 zone, Main Street at Sutton Circle.
