THE NEW-HARMONY GAZETTE. SPECIAL

By- Dan Barton, Publisher. Sunday, August 6, 2023

Recently, I did a column on a critical analysis of my “letter ofinquiry” to Posey County Prosecutor Thomas Clowers regarding some missing information in a Probable Cause Affidavit that I had received from his office some months back.

The affidavit was written by Indiana State Police Detective WestonKuykendall, a very experienced Detective whose affidavits are almost always picture perfect, on the arrest of New Harmony resident Mist Justice. In this case, I didn’t think the affidavit was so perfect! So, I took issue with it.

It not only involved the arrest of New Harmony resident Misti Justice in December 2022, but also the search of her apartment in New Harmony and the eventual confiscation by Indiana State Police of a shotgun located on her premises.

As I was scrutinizing Det. Kuykendall’s Probable Cause Affidavit, I noticed that some pertinent information seemed to be missing.

1. There was a wrong address pertaining to where Misti Justice resided. 2) There was no address listed regarding where the search took place and confiscation of a shotgun was located, 3) There was no address of the location where she was arrested in New Harmony.

These are items that Kuykendall does not usually overlook in his reports. For example in the Probable Cause Affidavit on the arrest in November 2021, of Murder Suspect Austin Kusturin, all of these items were included regarding his arrest – and all correct. Even Kusturin’s mother’s address was included, along with the address where police found a rifle allegedly taken from the murder scene that was stored in the Kusturin family storage unit #10.

The same went for Robert McCarty’s arrest in January 2022, and where a successful search was conducted for drugs and a .45 caliber rifle, that got McCarty arrested on weapons and drug charges. Even McCarty’s mother’s address was listed in the affidavit.

Normally I probably would have overlooked all of the “coincidences” just like you. But since the Probable Cause Affidavit on Misti Justice written by the same Detective as the other two I had to inquire. Since Kuykendall had made it a point to list correctly all of the data on the McCarty and Kusturin arrests, my intellectual curiosity got the better of me, and I pursued the matter.

I first went to Detective Kuykendall, because he authored all three Affidavits, and he would not go further on the Justice affidavit than what the affidavit said. He advised me to check with Posey County Sheriff Latham, whom he said should have the arrest informationthat would include the missing data I was seeking. That was February 2023.

Latham had said in February that he would send me the information “soon”. Four and a half months later I had not gotten an answer from Sheriff Latham. I contacted him again in July 2023, and things had changed. Now he said that he did not have any such report or record.

Something that seemed easy was now looking very impossible. Andat the same time, “Strange!” I proceeded to request the data from Posey County Prosecutor Thomas Clowers in August 2023, and he couldn’t or wouldn’t release the missing information.

This was obviously upsetting. I hastily prepared a Public NewsSpecial Release describing my dilemma, one copy going toProsecutor Clowers. In my News Letter, I asked several questions tothe Public and to Clowers. Clowers was not happy. He sent me a scorching reply which, among other things said that I was baselesslyattacking local law enforcement. That, is because I asked the question about why there was what seemed to be a conspiracy to keep information on this criminal case away from the public. And also that by doing so it would protect alleged racketeers in the county.

Now, after looking at my language, in hindsight, I can understand Prosecutor Clowers anger, and believe I may have been a little too forceful in my language. It was designed to draw the public’s attention to the issue and create discussion, as it is a double murder we’re talking about and the worst crime to take place since the1980s in Posey County.

But, as I am not thrilled with being depicted by the top lawenforcement officer in the county as being “absurd,” and “out of line,” and most especially attacking our local law enforcement in my question of why this information has not been forthcoming to The New Harmony Gazette from any of the public officials that I have reached out to; I am willing to rephrase my observation and the language of what’s taking place.

I retract my original language in which I said, “Why are they conspiring to keep the information on this criminal case away from the public and so protect these alleged racketeers?” and replace it with the following: “Why are local-ranking law enforcement and Circuit Court officials seemingly withholding information on the Probable Cause Affidavit in the Misti Justice arrest that The New Harmony Gazette has called for to date?” “Does it seem like the criminal element in Posey County might not look at this denial of cooperation with the press as a victory for their side?”

I hope that this sincere question/statement will assuage the rancor that has developed between Prosecutor Thomas Clowers and his view of The New Harmony Gazette.

Best of luck to all Posey County law enforcement in the future!

Dan Barton, Publisher

The New Harmony Gazette

Footnote:  This letter was published by the City-County Observer without opinon,bias or editing.