Jackson County Inmate Roster – 6-2-21
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Trooper Charged for Striking his K-9 during Training Session
An Indiana State Police officer is on administrative leave after being charged with fracturing the back leg of his K-9 partner.
A criminal investigation conducted by the Indiana State Police has resulted in the Dubois County Prosecutor’s Office issuing a summons to appear in court for Trooper Dustan Rubenacker, 29, for the charge of Striking a Law Enforcement Animal, a Class A Misdemeanor.
Indiana State Police initiated a criminal investigation after Rubenacker allegedly struck his police K-9 during a March 17th training session in Jasper.
Several Indiana State Police K-9 teams were present when the alleged incident occurred.
During the training session, Rubenacker and his K-9, Odin, were participating in an exercise and Odin was not properly focusing on the correct target.
Rubenacker allegedly used unreasonable discipline toward Odin, which resulted in an injury.
Odin was taken to a veterinarian clinic where it was determined Odin had a serious fracture to his right rear leg.
Odin underwent surgery to repair his leg, but it is not known at this time if Odin will return to work.
Odin is a five-year-old Belgian Malinois and has been a member of the Indiana State Police for approximately four years.
Rubenacker is a six-year veteran of the Indiana State Police.
The summons for Rubenacker was served this afternoon. Rubenacker is scheduled to appear in Dubois Circuit Court on July 6 at 10:30 a.m.
Rubenacker is currently on administrative leave with pay.
An internal investigation is ongoing.
Two Sellersburg Troopers Recognized by Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Earlier this morning in Bloomington, the Indiana chapter of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) recognized Trooper Justin Mears and Trooper Morgenn Evans from the Sellersburg District for their extraordinary efforts in removing impaired drivers from Indiana roadways.
National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) data shows nearly 30 people die every day across the United States in drunk driving crashes. That staggering number averages one preventable death every 50 minutes, making the efforts of Troopers Mears and Evans even more commendable.
Trooper Mears is an 8-year veteran of the Indiana State Police(ISP). He has been recognized as one of ISP’s top five OWI enforcement officers for the past three years, amassing over one hundred impaired driving arrests for each of those years. Trooper Mears is also a certified Drug Recognition Expert and Standard Field Sobriety Instructor, assisting and training other officers across the state.
Trooper Morgenn Evans has been an ISP Trooper for five years. The Indiana State Police recognized trooper Evans as a member of the top five Troopers for impaired driving arrests. In his short time as a Trooper, Evans has received the Combat Action Award and a Purple Heart, both earned during the apprehension of an impaired driver.
For more information on MADD, you can visit their website at https://www.madd.org/#
Harrison County Inmate Roster – 6-2-21
Plowman, Carol
Possession of a Controlled substance -Legend Drug
Possession of a Hypodermic Needle
Washington County Inmate Roster – 6-1-21
June 1
Washington County Sheriff’s Department
Charles James Sieg, 34, Pekin
- Battery or battery by bodily waste (BBW) against public safety official while engaged in official duties
May 31
Washington County Sheriff’s Department
Brandy Lorraine Peters, 44, Salem
- Battery or battery by bodily waste (BBW) – Defendant 18 or over victim <14
- Possession of a controlled substance
Gavin Lincoln Brewer, 21, Salem
- Operating While Intoxicated Per Se
- Operating a vehicle while intoxicated – with a previous conviction of operating while intoxicated
- Operating a vehicle with a controlled substance in the person’s body
May 30
Washington County Sheriff’s Department
Robert Anthony Taylor, 31, Witchita, KS
- Child solicitation – person at least 21 solicits child at least 14 but less than 16 or an individual the person believes is child age 14-16 using the computer network and travels to meet the child or an individual person believes to be a child – or person has a
May 28
Salem Police Department
Robert Dewayne Canfield, 56, Mitchell
- Operating a vehicle with an alcohol equivalent to at least .15 gram of alcohol
- Operating a vehicle while intoxicated PER SE
May 27
Washington County Sheriff’s Department
Timothy Andrew Short, 33, Scottsburg
- Possession of methamphetamine
- Possession of paraphernalia
- Obstruction of justice
- Possession of cocaine or narcotic drug
May 26
Salem Police Department
Devon Lee Keller, 27, Pekin
- Theft
Thomas Robert Lewis, 26, Salem
- Possession of marijuana hash oil hashish or salvia – prior conviction for a drug offense
- Possession of paraphernalia
- Operating Motor Vehicle without Financial Responsibility With a Prior Conviction
Inmate Overpowers Officer and Escapes from Hospital
On May 31, 2021, at approximately 12:24 PM, Seymour Police Department Communications received a call for assistance at Schneck Medical Center from hospital security reference a prisoner that had escaped from Jackson County Sheriff Department Custody.
Seymour Patrol Officers and Investigators responded to the location.
Upon arrival at Schneck Medical Center, Patrol Officers and Investigators learned that the Seymour Officer working security had cornered the suspect in a mechanical room accessible from the roof.
When backup arrived, the suspect was secured and provided medical attention.
Investigators learned that the suspect who was identified as Jackson Hatchett, 27 of Brownstown, was being discharged from the hospital.
While being discharged, Hatchett overpowered and assaulted a Corrections Officer with the Sheriff’s Department.
The correctional Officer received multiple injuries including a loss of consciousness from Hatchet strangling him.
Hatchett then barricaded himself in a bathroom and broke out a third-story window.
Hatchett jumped out of the third-story window to a second-story roof, where he entered a mechanical room.
Hatchet was caught several moments later.
Hatchett received several lacerations to his arms from jumping out the window. Hatchett was secured and taken downstairs to the emergency room for treatment.
The Corrections Officer was also treated for their injuries. At the time of this release, the injuries to the Corrections Officer are not known.
Hatchett was arrested by Seymour Police Department Investigators for Escape a level 4 felony, Battery with serious bodily injury a level 5 felony, strangulation a level 6 felony, theft a level 6 felony, and criminal mischief a class A misdemeanor.
Hatchett was being held in the custody of the Sheriff’s Department on outstanding charges.
No employees of Schneck Medical Center were injured in the incident.
State’s New Youth-Employment System goes live today
The Indiana Department of Labor’s new Youth Employment System, or YES, went live this morning, opening the door for Hoosier employers to begin using the system to comply with a new youth-employment law that goes into effect July 1.
The new law requires Indiana employers who hire five or more minor employees (under age 18), per location, to list those employees in the new YES registry. The change is part of amendments to Indiana Code 22-2-18.1-26 made during the 2020 state legislative session, which also mandated implementation of the YES registry and effective date of employer registration by July 1, 2021.
“We wanted the system to go live a month before the law goes into effect so employers can set up their accounts, test-drive the system, and learn their way around it,” said Michael Myers, director of DOL’s Bureau of Youth Employment.
The new requirement will eliminate the need for work permits in Indiana for minor employees, and shift the responsibility of tracking and reporting youth employment from schools to employers. Required information will include the employers’ corporate and individual facility location, and minor employee information, such as name and age, once the minor is officially employed. Upon termination of employment, the employer must remove the minor’s information from the YES active-employee registry.
As of July 1, employers who fail to comply with the new registration requirements may face penalties of up to $400 per infraction. The new YES requirement will not impact the state’s work-hour requirement for minors, and all employers must still comply with the Teen Work Hour Restrictions and Prohibited and Hazardous Occupation restrictions for minors.
For more information about the new state requirements and the YES registry, click here.
Roundabout Completion Pushed to Late August; Curbs Lowered Says Garrett
A design change along with weather delays have pushed the completion of Salem’s roundabout at the bypass to late August, according to Natalie Garrett, INDOT Public Relations Director, Southeast District.
Construction was halted for over a week recently while design changes were made.
Garrett said design changes were made to the splitter islands on each approach leg of the roundabout to make them mountable.
“As of now, the completion date has been moved to late August,” she said.
Garrett said “mountable” means that the elevation of the curb is lowered so the back wheels of trucks and other large vehicles can travel over the curb if needed.
The interior island was already designed to be mountable, she said.
Garrett talked about the project in mid-May on WSLM’s Coffee Club.
She said the bypass will remain closed until the project is completed and SR60 will close entirely for work on the single-lane structure in June.
“The entire intersection will close,” she said. “That will be about a month. Sometime in June. We will share the detour route and get people where they need to go.”
Initially, the public has been vocal about the roundabout but Garrett said INDOT was in hopes that the public embraces the project.
“We’ve experienced (opposition) a lot here in southern Indiana,” said Garrett. “It’s a newer thing. We hope that once we get this thing built, people can adjust to it a little better. A lot of people compare it to the one in Jeffersonville, but this one is a lot simpler — a single-lane roundabout. Once they get a chance to try it out, their opinions will change.”
She said the main goal was to reduce serious accidents.
“Our goal is to improve safety and reduce crashes. We’re not saying it will eliminate all crashes, but it should eliminate the severe crashes,” said Garrett.
She said roundabouts are designed with large trucks and agriculture in mind.
“We’ve run multiple models and have multiple engineers to work on this. The way they’re designed, as vehicles are approaching, they are designed in a way to make people slow down. Whether you’re in a passenger vehicle or a large truck. If you’re in a large truck, you’ll be slowing down as you enter. There will be a truck apron on the center island….which is mountable,” she said.
She said roundabouts eliminate possible crash points in an intersection.
“We’ve tried a number of other improvements,” said Garrett. “Advanced warning signs, rumble strips, oversized stop signs, adding lights to those stopsigns — some of those worked better than others. We were trying some lower-cost things before we came in and completely rebuilt the intersection.”
She said a stoplight was not considered because it would cause people to stop suddenly and could lead to more rear-end crashes.
“The roundabout just seemed the best option,” she said. “People are a little apprehensive or nervous. But we think that it will work well. Once they drive through it and get used to it.”
Garrett pointed out that recently roundabouts have been constructed in North Vernon and Madison, which will be similar to the ones in Salem.
Roundabouts reduced injury crashes by 75 percent at intersections where stop signs or signals were previously used for traffic control, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
“People don’t like change, but I hope they will see the benefits down the road,” said Garrett. “Our goal is to improve safety and reduce crashes.”
