Wells Superior Court
Criminal Cases
Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Cody Andrew Howe, 23, Ossian, charged with operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of at least .08 percent but less than .15 percent, a Class C misdemeanor. Released on his own recognizance.
On Sept. 8, an Ossian police officer was responding to a stray dog complaint when he happened upon a disabled pickup truck that was parked about a car’s length west of the intersection of Jefferson and LaFever streets. He pulled over to see what the problem was.
Howe, who reportedly admitted to being the driver of the truck, reportedly told the officer that he had left his four-year-old child home alone at his apartment to go to the convenience store and was on his way back home when the truck stalled.
The officer told Howe he needed to get home immediately and took Howe back to his apartment. The child had reportedly been asleep when Howe left but was awake when he returned.
While the child was OK, the officer noted in his report that Howe appeared intoxicated and reportedly admitted to having drank “a shot” earlier. The officer requested assistance from a sheriff’s deputy to watch the child while he administered field sobriety tests to Howe. Since the deputy was not near Ossian and was on another call, it took the deputy 20 to 30 minutes to arrive.
Although a portable Breathalyzer test showed Howe’s blood alcohol concentration to be .161 percent — or twice Indiana’s legal limit — by the time he was taken to the Wells County Jail, a certified breath test showed his alcohol concentration equivalency to be .117 percent.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Christopher J. Crocker Jr., 34, rural Huntington, charged with driving while suspended with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor; possession or display of a fictitious or altered driver’s license, a Class C misdemeanor; and operating a motor vehicle without insurance, a Class A infraction. Jeffrey Stineburg appointed public defender.
During the course of investigating a two-vehicle traffic crash at the intersection of Main and Wabash streets Sept. 5, a Bluffton police officer discovered that the driver of one of the vehicles was not who had originally been represented to be the driver.
The officer was originally told one of the vehicles was driven by a woman but the driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash said it was not the woman who was claiming to be the driver of the vehicle that had been involved in the accident but rather it was Crocker and that Crocker had switched seats with the woman who had claimed to be the driver after the collision occurred. After questioning by the officer, Crocker reportedly admitted that he indeed had been the driver.
The officer then discovered that Crocker had several suspensions against his driver’s license, the most recent one meted in Huntington County Superior Court Sept. 9, 2020.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Steven Patrick Lewis, 51, Bluffton, charged with possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony. Bond continued at $5,000. Jeffrey Stineburg appointed public defender.
At 1:32 a.m. Sept. 11, Bluffton police officers responded to the 1200 block of Virginia Court on a report that a man had knocked on the window of a residence and now was standing in the street behaving strangely.
An officer spotted Lewis standing in the street and asked him what was going on. Lewis, who was shirtless and shoeless, reportedly replied that he used to live on Bond Street but now lived in Huntington and was just trying to get home. He claimed to have been dropped off in the area by a friend following a party both were at. The friend, he reportedly surmised, must have thought Lewis still lived in Bluffton.
While Lewis claimed to have consumed alcohol at the party, the officer noted in his report to the court that Lewis was saying things that did not make much sense and appeared to be “on” something other than alcohol. He reportedly did test .095 percent alcohol concentration equivalency on a Breathalyzer test.
The officer then confirmed that Lewis had an active warrant for his arrest out of Koscisuko County and placed him under arrest.
While being booked into the Wells County Jail prior to his transfer to Koscisuko County, a jailer reportedly found a small plastic bag containing a crystalline substance that appeared to be methamphetamine in one of Lewis’ shorts pockets.
Lewis was already out on bond awaiting trial from July 25 charges of possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony; residential entry, a Level 6 felony; resisting law enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor; possession of drug paraphernalia with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor; and possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor.
A revocation of his bond in that case has been requested by the Wells County Prosecutor’s office.
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Sentence amended from 100 days to 20 days for Jeffrey Gish Welker, 55, Ohio City, Ohio, originally sentenced June 2 on charges of carrying a handgun without a license, and operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of .15 percent or more, both Class A misdemeanors.
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William Mitchell Austin, 47, Warsaw, pleaded guilty to two counts of intimidation where the defendant has threatened to commit a forcible felony, both Level 6 felonies.
Sentenced to two years in prison, with all but 180 days suspended, and placed on probation for 550 days. Ordered to submit a DNA sample and pay court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, two other counts of intimidation where the defendant has threatened to commit a forcible felony, both Level 6 felonies, were dismissed.
Austin reportedly wanted a relationship with a Bluffton woman who was already in a relationship with another man. In October of 2020, he reportedly contacted the woman and her significant other and threatened to harm them both, burn down their house, vandalize their vehicles and kill their dog.
While the investigating officer was interviewing the woman, Austin reportedly called the woman on her cellphone. The officer asked the woman to place her phone on speaker so he, the officer, could listen in on the conversation. Austin allegedly grew angrier as the conversation continued and reportedly in the presence of the officer restated all of his earlier threats.
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Andres T. Hernandez, 42, Bluffton, pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor.
Sentenced to a year in the Wells County Jail, with all but six days suspended — credited as time served, and placed on probation for 359 days.
Ordered to pay for the costs of his blood test, court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, charges of operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of at least .08 percent but less than .15 percent, a Class C misdemeanor, and knowingly or intentionally operating a motor vehicle while never having received a driver’s license, a Class C misdemeanor, were both dismissed.
On July 3, Bluffton police received a driving complaint of a vehicle traveling all over the roadway on Bond Street near Wiley Avenue. The caller provided the license plate number for the car, the registration of which listed a residence in the 1000 block of West Cherry Street. Since the direction of travel reported by the caller suggested the vehicle might be returning to the place of residence where it was registered, an officer went there and located the vehicle in the driveway occupied by several people, reportedly none of whom spoke English.
The officer had a translator come to the scene, but reportedly Hernandez, who was identified in the officer’s report to the court as the driver of the vehicle, reportedly declined to cooperate with the translator. Eventually he reportedly did cooperate.
The officer observed in his report to the court that Hernandez appeared intoxicated, failed field sobriety tests and blew a .143 percent alcohol concentration equivalency on a Breathalyzer test.
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Karri A. Miller, 34, listed as homeless, pleaded guilty to battery resulting in bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor.
Sentenced to one year in the Wells County Jail, with all but two days suspended — credited as time served, and placed on probation for 363 days.
Ordered to pay court costs and restitution in an amount to be determined.
Miller was charged with battering another woman during an argument over money in the parking lot of the Skyline Village apartments in Markle June 4.
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Bench trial set to commence at 9 a.m. Jan. 20, 2023, for Daniel A. Miller, 37, Bluffton, charged with one count of theft, a Class A misdemeanor.
Files Statement
A candidate’s statement of organization and designation of principal committee or exploratory committee has been filed with the Wells County Clerk’s office by Scott Anthony Holliday, Ossian, the Republican candidate in the November election for Wells County Sheriff.
The name of the committee is Committee to Re-elect Scott Holliday. The depository for campaign funds is ProFed Credit Union. The treasurer of the campaign is Randy D. Steele.
Files Report
A report of receipts and expenditures has been filed with the Wells County Clerk’s office by the Committee to Re-elect Scott Holliday, Scott Anthony Holliday, Ossian, seeking election as the Republican for Wells County Sheriff.
For the period beginning Jan. 1 and continuing through April 8 the committee showed no cash on hand at the beginning of the reporting period, $12,986 in itemized receipts and contributions, $159 in unitemized receipts and contributions, $3,821.04 in itemized expenditures, no unitemized expenditures, and finished the reporting period with $9,324.30 in cash on hand. The committee owed the candidate himself $2,500 in debt.
This report was filed as an amendment to an earlier report that included a list of all of the itemized contributions, receipts and expenditures.
This amendment, however, listed itemized expenditures inadvertently left off the first filing that listed $251.34 to LeeAnn Steele for fundraising drinks; and $23.64 for unspecified fees.
