A nine-year-old boy was struck by a vehicle as he attempted to cross the highway shortly before 9 a.m. on Thursday, June 1,

The child was transported by air ambulance to Norton Children’s Hospital and sustained serious injuries.

Nathaniel R. Byler passed away later in the afternoon as a result of his injuries.

He was born February 17, 2014 in Paoli.

Nathaniel is survived by his parents, William and Rebecca Byler; paternal grandparents, William, Sr. and Rebecca Byler; maternal grandparents, Moses and Christine Schmidt; 4 brothers: Mose, Willis, Jonas, and Jesse Byler; and 6 sisters: Rachel Girod (Jacob), Edna Schwartz (Reuben), Lucy, Tina, Rebecca, and Joan Byler.

Byler had checked a mailbox on the east side of State Road 135 North and was crossing the highway to return home when he was struck.

The vehicle, a 2022 Lincoln Navigator, was operated by 81-year-old Fred Harrison of Medora, Indiana.

“This was a very unfortunate accident,” Sheriff Brent Miller said. “Our prayers are with all parties involved in this tragedy.”

S.R. 135 North was closed for about four hours following the accident.

Detective Brad Naugle is the lead investigator with assistance from Washington County EMS and members of the Jefferson and Monroe Township Volunteer Fire Departments.

An Indiana State Police accident reconstruction team was called to the scene to assist with the investigation, said Miller.

No charges have been filed and the accident remains under investigation at this time.

Washington Circuit Judge Larry Medlock granted a request on Thursday, June 1 to allow a jury to be brought in from outside Washington County to decide the fate of a woman charged in the death of a boy whose body was found inside a suitcase.

The jury will come from Harrison County. 

Medlock granted the change of venue Thursday for Dawn Coleman.

She argued the public outrage over the death of 5-year-old Cairo Ammar Jordan would prevent her from getting a fair trial.

The issue will be further discussed at a pre-trial conference to be held on July 6 at 9a.

The trial is set for October 3 at 8:30a.

Police arrested Coleman in October after they tracked her down in San Franciso.

Prosecutors say she helped the child’s mother, DeJuana Ludie Andeson, dispose of the boy’s body in Pekin last year. 

Andeson is still at large. 

A Scottsburg business owner was arrested Friday, June 2 on several felony charges following an Indiana State Police investigation that began in March.  

John Christopher Gibbs, , 57, Louisville, Kentucky, owner of Gibbs Innovative Manufacturers Inc.(GIM Inc.), located in Scottsburg, Indiana allegedly defrauded vendors of over $302,000.00 in this case.  

Gibbs was arrested and charged with:

1. Corrupt Business Practices, Level 5 Felony – one count.
2. Fraud, Level 5 Felony – Five counts 
3. Theft, Level 5 Felony – Three counts 
4. Fraud, Level 6 Felony – Two counts 
5. Theft, Level 6 Felony – Four counts 

In March, a business vendor and potential fraud victim contacted Detective Tim Denby with the Indiana State Police Special Investigations Section.

The vendor alleged fraudulent business practices by John Christopher Gibbs.

The vendor stated Gibbs paid for services rendered with a fraudulent check.

The check in question was for an amount over $10,000.

As a result of his subsequent investigation, Detective Denby believed Gibbs knowingly wrote the check the day after Gibbs closed the associated checking account.  

As the investigation continued, Detective Denby learned of multiple other vendors who were potential victims and owed large payments by GIM Inc. for work completed at the GIM, Inc. factory in Scottsburg.

Those vendors included various contractors in southern Indiana and a locally based financial institution.

Kentucky State Police (KSP) detectives arrested John Gibbs Friday at a Simpsonville, Kentucky, hotel he was using as his residence. KSP also arrested John Christopher Gibbs on related warrants from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia.  

The Scott County Indiana Prosecutor’s Office, The Kentucky State Police, and the Louisville Metro Police Department assisted in this investigation. 

This morning, a suspect stole a school bus from the Cincinnati, Ohio area and led police from numerous Indiana police departments on a chase that lasted nearly an hour before the bus became disabled and the suspect was arrested.

At approximately 10:15 am this morning, the Indiana State Police-Versailles Post was contacted by Ohio authorities who relayed information that a yellow 2021 school bus had been stolen from the Cincinnati area and was currently being tracked while it traveled westbound on I-74 near Batesville in Ripley County, Indiana. 

A Batesville Police Officer and two Indiana State Troopers located the vehicle and followed it as it entered Decatur County, Indiana. 

The troopers attempted to initiate a traffic stop on the vehicle.  The suspect and lone occupant of the vehicle, Chad Avery Murdock, age 32, Cincinnati, Ohio, did not stop and fled from the officers in the vehicle. 

The vehicle eventually went off road into numerous fields and yards. 

The bus drove on numerous county roads as well as US 421 and SR 9 during the pursuit. 

Numerous officers from multiple departments joined the pursuit as the bus entered Shelby County.

Officers were eventually able to deploy a tire deflation device successfully which caused the tires on the bus to deflate. 

At approximately 11:15 am, officers boxed the bus in as it drove through another field, causing Murdock to stop the bus near County Road 25 East, just south of Shelbyville in Shelby County, Indiana. 

Murdock was then taken into custody without further incident.

Multiple police vehicles were damaged due to collisions with the bus during the pursuit. 

Multiple fields and yards also sustained damages due to Murdock’s actions.

Neither Murdock nor any of the police officers involved were injured during the incident.

Murdock was transported to the Decatur County Jail where he was incarcerated on preliminary charges of Resisting Law Enforcement, Criminal Recklessness with a Vehicle, Possession of Stolen Property, and Criminal Mischief. 

Additional charges are possible.

Detectives with the Indiana State Police are investigating after a suspect shot a New Albany police officer while the officer was investigating a prior shooting in the city.

ISP detectives believe a female victim reported a shooting incident earlier Tuesday morning in the 400 block of Green Street in New Albany. 

No person was struck or injured in that incident; however, officers with the New Albany Police Department began looking for 29-year-old Barry Sowders of New Albany concerning that incident.  

At approximately 11:30 Tuesday morning, a vehicle matching the suspects was located near the 1400 block of Grant Street in New Albany. 

Sowders exited the car when officers approached, and officers observed a handgun in Sowder’s possession. 

When officers attempted to detain Sowders, he fled on foot, and the officers gave chase. 

As officers pursued, Sowders fired a handgun at two officers, striking Corporal Andrew Byrne. 

Corporal Byrne then returned fire, striking Sowders.  

Detectives believe Barry Sowders continued to flee on foot and fired again at a third pursuing officer. 

Sowders was then able to evade officers but officers from multiple departments responded and began setting a perimeter around the location. 

Additionally, officers at the scene of the shooting provided medical aid to Corporal Byrne.  An ambulance then transported Officer Byrne to University Hospital in Louisville.  

An ISP and LMPD helicopter responded to the scene as officers continued to search for Sowders.  At approximately 12:30 pm, a group of officers from multiple agencies located Sowders lying on the front porch of a Market Street residence a short distance from the shooting. 

Officers and emergency medical personnel treated Sowders for gunshot wounds, who was then taken into custody and transported to University Hospital by ambulance.  

New Albany Police Chief Todd Baily requested ISP investigate the police-involved shooting.  This investigation is ongoing; however, as of the writing of this news release, Barry Sowders has been released from the hospital and is currently incarcerated at Jefferson County Metro Corrections in Louisville, pending his extradition to Indiana. 

Sowders is being held on a warrant for three counts of attempted murder and resisting law enforcement.  

Corporal Andrew Byrnes is currently listed in Fair condition at the University of Louisville Hospital.  

This is an ongoing investigation, and more information will be released as it becomes available.