Wells Superior Court
Criminal Cases
Steven E. Miller Sr., 60, Bluffton, pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalency of .08 percent or more with a prior conviction, a Class A misdemeanor, with a finding that he is an habitual vehicular substance abuse offender.
Sentenced to 1,025 days in the Wells County Jail. The court found that probation would not be successful as Miller has a “significant and similar criminal history” and probation has not been successful in the past.
Credited for four days spent in confinement awaiting disposition of his case.
As part of a plea agreement, one count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor, was dismissed.
Miller was turning a motorcycle from Main Street onto Dustman Road Aug. 7, 2021, when he tipped the motorcycle over in the intersection.
Miller reportedly admitted to having drank beer prior to the accident. He blew a .125 percent alcohol concentration equivalency on a Breathalyzer test.
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Philip A. Chalmers, 52, Marion, pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor.
Sentenced to 20 days in the Wells County Jail, assessed a drug interdiction fee of $200 and court costs of $185.
As part of a plea agreement, one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor, was dismissed.
An Indiana State Police trooper was patrolling Main Street April 27 when he was informed by a Bluffton police officer that a Pontiac Grand Am was heading the trooper’s direction. The car, the officer reported, had a broken windshield and an expired license plate. The trooper pulled the vehicle over in the parking lot of The Budget Inn on North Main Street.
Chalmers was the driver.
The trooper obtained permission from Chalmers to search the vehicle and, with the assistance of a Wells County Deputy Sheriff, they reportedly found a small blue pill in a cigarette pack. Chalmers reportedly denied ever having seen the pill. The trooper was able to identify the pill as Vyvanse, a Schedule II controlled substance for control of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Suspecting illegal drug activity, the trooper questioned the female passenger in Chalmers’ car if there was anything illegal in the motel room where they had been staying at the Budget Inn. The woman allegedly admitted there was both marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Chalmers reportedly became agitated but granted the trooper permission to search the motel room. During the course of the search, a metal tray was located in the night stand of the room. On the tray were Zig-zag rolling papers, a black cylinder containing a green leafy substance with the odor and appearance of marijuana, a round container with “dabs” — a slang term for a waxy substance containing THC oil, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana — a metal pipe containing a substance with the odor and appearance of burned marijuana and a vape cartridge that reportedly contained THC oil.
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Jarvis Moore, 25, Anderson, pleaded guilty to criminal mischief.
Sentenced to 180 days in the Wells County Jail, with all but 30 days suspended, and placed on probation for 335 days.
Credited for 28 days spent in confinement awaiting disposition of his case.
Ordered to pay restitution to the victim of his crime — Praxis by Landmark Recovery — court costs and probation fees.
Moore had been a patient at the Praxis substance abuse treatment facility on West Lancaster Street when he withdrew from the facility and requested his property be returned around 7:30 p.m. Aug. 22. After being told that he could only receive his property during business hours, Moore became agitated and punched out a window at the facility. Police were called by an employee.
The investigating officer observed that Moore’s right hand was bloodied and Moore allegedly admitted to having punched the window allegedly telling the officer that it was better than “hitting an employee (of the facility) in the face.”
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Trey A. Mettler, 28, Bluffton, pleaded guilty to failure by a sex or violent offender to possess identification, a Class A misdemeanor.
Sentenced to a year in the Wells County Jail, with all but two days suspended — credited as time served, and placed on probation for 180 days.
Ordered to pay court costs and probation fees.
A sheriff’s deputy responded to a report of a suspicious man walking on 450E near 700N at 5:39 p.m. July 18. The caller was concerned that the man walking had on a hooded sweatshirt with the hood up on the sweatshirt despite the fact that it was hot outside.
The deputy located the man, later identified as Mettler, who responded that the sweatshirt was all he had to wear and he was walking from Bluffton to Fort Wayne. He reportedly did not have any identification on him.
Mettler is listed as a sexually violent predator.
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Patience Renee Awkright, 24, Bluffton, pleaded guilty to theft, 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 $423.91 in restitution to Walmart Stores East LLP, court costs and probation fees.
As part of a plea agreement, six additional counts of theft, all Class A misdemeanors, were dismissed.
Awkright was charged with participating with Adrian Anthony Phillip James Book, 31, Bluffton, in multiple thefts from the Bluffton Walmart Supercenter this past May.
Reportedly the couple intentionally failed to scan numerous items at the self-checkout aisle of the store including weed trimmer string, ribeye steaks, men socks, a backpack and handbags.
Book is awaiting trial on 13 counts of theft, all Class A misdemeanors.
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Tasha N. Winkler, 37, Bluffton, pleaded guilty to battery resulting in bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor.
Sentenced to a year in the Wells County Jail, with all but eight days suspended — credited as time served, and placed on probation for 357 days.
Ordered to serve 90 days of home detention and pay court costs and probation fees.
Winkler was charged with battering Sequoia Michelle Kennedy, 27, during an argument at the Miller Street address they share June 10. Kennedy was charged with domestic battery committed in the presence of a child less than 16 years old, a Level 6 felony, and battery resulting in bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor, stemming from the same incident. She pleaded guilty to both charges Aug. 11 and was sentenced.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Beulan R. Davis, 50, Bluffton, charged with unlawful possession of a hypodermic syringe, a Level 6 felony, and possession of a Schedule I, II, III, or IV controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor. Bond continued at $6,500.
While patrolling Main Street Oct. 14, a state trooper decided to perform a license plate check of a Lincoln ahead of his patrol car and discovered that the registered owner of the car, Davis, had a driver’s license that expired in 2009 and had never been renewed.
The trooper pulled the Lincoln over in the parking lot of Forgotten Children Worldwide.
As Davis was handing the trooper his Kentucky driver’s license, allegedly several syringes fell out of the center console of the vehicle. The trooper then ordered Davis out of the vehicle. As Davis started to get out of the driver’s seat, allegedly the trooper spotted a prescription pill bottle that Davis had been sitting on.
A search of the vehicle by the trooper reportedly turned up 10 hypodermic syringes — which Davis reportedly told the trooper belonged to his wife and son who were diabetic. Inside the plastic bottle was reportedly a small plastic bag containing amphetamine and dextroamphetamine. Davis allegedly told the trooper he had been prescribed the medication but had run out of the pills and obtained two from a friend.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Cody Michael-Thomas Tanksley, 27, Bluffton, charged with battery against a public safety official, a Level 6 felony; resisting law enforcement causing bodily injury, a Level 6 felony; resisting law enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor; and battery, a Class B misdemeanor. Bond continued at $17,500. Larry Mock appointed public defender.
On Oct. 14, Bluffton police responded to a residence in the 500 block of Rast Dustman Road on a report of an unwanted man at the residence. The caller identified the unwanted man as Tanksley and stated that Tanksley was intoxicated.
After arriving, officers discovered that Tanklsey and another man at the residence had been in a physical altercation that Tanklsey allegedly initiated.
As officers were reportedly trying to place Tanksley under arrest in the garage of the residence, Tanklsey reportedly resisted. He was eventually handcuffed but allegedly as he was being escorted to a patrol vehicle, he showed one of the officers with his shoulder. He was then taken to the ground where he allegedly started yelling and thrashing about with his legs. At that point, a state trooper used his conducted electrical weapon three times on Tanksley to allow officers to gain control of the situation. Tanksley was then taken into custody.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Victoria Brown, 21, Bluffton, charged with disorderly conduct, a Class B misdemeanor.
At 4 p.m. Oct. 15, Bluffton police were dispatched to Premier Flats apartments on a report of a loud domestic disturbance between a male and a female that shared one of the apartments.
Brown reportedly was the female involved.
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Preliminary plea of not guilty entered for Zachary Tyler-Cassidy West, 22, Bluffton, charged with driving while suspended with a prior conviction for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor.
On Oct. 14, a sheriff’s deputy spotted a vehicle that West was driving suddenly jerk to the side of the road. The deputy pulled the vehicle over.
West reportedly told the deputy he had jerked the vehicle because he was arguing with his girlfriend, who was seated in the passenger seat and wanted to pull over.
During the course of speaking with West about his driving behavior, the deputy reportedly discovered that West had a previous conviction in Wabash County Superior Court for driving while suspended Aug. 8, 2022. His driver’s license was ineligible for reinstatement until 2025.
