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Crime Free Multi-Housing Unit Media Invitation

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Friday, February 6, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. the Evansville Police Department’s Crime Free Multi-Housing Unit will be certifying Shady Tree Apartments at 3900 N. Fulton Avenue as a Gold Certified Property in the Crime Free Multi-Housing program.

The certification process requires a property to complete three phases in order to become fully certified. Shady Tree Apartments have been working toward this goal since early 2013, investing a large amount of time, money, and effort into improving their property and the quality of life for their residents.

At this event the E.P.D. will be presenting the property with its Gold certificate and signage to display on the property and it is also a chance for the residents to meet the officers, management and each other.

Shady Tree Apartments is a 126 unit apartment community located on Evansville’s northwest side. Jessica Barnhill is the manager of the complex and her phone number is 422-4444. EPD contacts for this event are Officer Eric Krogman 435-6116 or Officer Kevin Corbin 485-3061.

Multi-Agency Law Enforcement Effort Uncovers Large-Scale Meth Organization 

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SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.
 DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.
 

Early 2013, detectives with Evansville/Vanderburgh Joint Task Force began an investigating into a methamphetamine drug trafficking organization, operating primarily out of Vanderburgh County, Indiana.

Through the work of detectives a number of key individuals in the organization were identified.  The investigation culminated originally with a series of arrests made in and around May of 2014.  In spite of those key individuals being arrested, Detectives continued working in an attempt to ensure that all involved parties were identified and that no stone was left unturned.

Subsequent to those initial arrests, detectives began receiving information indicating that a number of the individuals arrested in the May takedown had posted bond, rejoined the organization and began actively participating in the operations of the organization at a larger scale than they had previously.

Over the course of the next 6 months, detectives were able to identify a large number of the individuals involved in the drug trafficking organization and were able to effectuate arrests that had a direct impact on the supply of methamphetamine and the organizations structure.

Arrests of individuals tied to the organization were made in August, September and November, respectfully.  During those arrests, approximately twenty (20) pounds of methamphetamine was seized.

Detectives received information that a principal member of the drug trafficking organization was trafficking an extremely large quantity of methamphetamine was being trafficked into Vanderburgh County.  On December 25, 2014, approximately seventeen (17) pounds of methamphetamine was seized as it was making its way back to Vanderburgh County, Indiana.

In late December, 2014, Detectives received information from multiple sources that individuals involved in the operations within the organization had abducted and assaulted one (1) individual and had planned to do the same to another.

On January 6, 2015, state and federal arrest warrants were executed with the help of a multiple law enforcement agencies on several individuals.   The Federal arrests were made for methamphetamine dealing and/or trafficking related offenses.  The State arrests were made for Conspiracy to Commit Murder, Attempted Murder, Criminal Confinement and Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Confinement.

Over the course of the investigation, multiple pound quantities of methamphetamine tied to this drug trafficking organization were seized on multiple occasions through the collective effort of the law enforcement agencies that have participated in this investigation.

Today marks a culmination of the diligent investigation undertaken by all involved law enforcement agencies into this methamphetamine drug trafficking organization.  The arrest warrants that were judicially issued yesterday and today related to the individuals involved in the drug trafficking organization are for the following individuals…

 

Acting United States Attorney Josh Minkler said, “Methamphetamine has been a scourge in the Southern Indiana area for many years.  My office continues the use of federal law to intervene in any way possible and help make our communities safe from meth dealers. I am very pleased with cooperation and teamwork displayed by our local law enforcement partners and the good work of Mr. Hermann and the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office.”

State Charges:

Eva Buck – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (A)

James Ling – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (A)

Robert Robertson Jr. – Attempted Murder / Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (A)(1)

Edward Nance – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (A)

Montrako Bradley – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine (A)

Joseph Wagner – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (A)

Bonnie Kay Wangler – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine (B)

Eric Tanksley – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (2)

Blake Selby – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (2)

Mark Darnell – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (2)

Jamar Hooser – Attempted Murder / Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (1/2)

Amy Robertson – Attempted Murder

Jason Greenlee – Attempted Murder

Tavon Clark – Attempted Murder

Royce Calvin – Attempted Murder

Joshua Brown – Dealing in a Synthetic Cannabinoid

Meko Levels Jr. – Dealing in a Synthetic Cannabinoid

Freddie Wiggins – Possession of a Firearm by a Serious Violent Felon (4)

Michelle McGoin – Possession of a Firearm by a Felon

Allen Fox – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (2)

Roger Streete – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (2)

Michael Kline – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (2)

Stephen Kline – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (2)

Stephen Hart – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (2)

Sheila Taylor – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (2)

Nathan Robertson – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine (2)

Jerald Clark Jr. – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (2)

Roy Durham Sr. – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (2)

Carolyn Sapp – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (2)

Richard Catt Jr. – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (2)

Aaron Ray – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine (2)

David Cobb – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (2)

Tony Sikes – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (2)

Chad Pate – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (2)

Troy Durham Sr. –Dealing in Methamphetamine  (4)

Melanie Martin –Dealing in Methamphetamine  (4)

Nick Clingerman – Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in Methamphetamine  (2)

Federally indicted:

Eric Tanksley

Terrence Cosby  

Eric Stinson

Eva Buck

Brian Tucker

Gregory Frankenberger   

Sean Killion

Steven Barnett

Rosario Ramirez-Ayala   

Marcelo Ramirez-Ayala

Brian Tucker

Sean McClain

Michelle Pippin

Jayson Hayes    

Jamar Hooser

Lyron Miller

Patrick Pate

James Hezel     

Timothy Ritzler

Michelle Pippin

Sean McClain

James Ling      

Sean Killion

Steven Barnett

Eva Buck

Jamar Hooser

Robert Robertson Jr.    

Amy Robertson

Gregory Tincher

Appeals court strips grandmother’s visitation, cites grandchild’s adoption

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Dave Stafford for www.theindianalawyer.com

An Indiana Court of Appeals panel Friday stripped a maternal grandparent of visitation rights, finding she had no standing to seek visitation. The parents of the child had divorced, and the father remarried shortly after the mother’s death.

After her petition was initially denied by a special judge, Hamilton Superior Judge William Hughes granted a motion to correct error and granted Melba Sutliffe’s petition for grandparent visitation. The court allowed her visitation one weekend a month, one week in summer and extra time around holidays. The child’s father, Kirk R. Jocham, appealed.

According to the record, Jocham and Sutliffe’s daughter, Stephenie Jocham, had one child, K.J., in 2004. The Jochams, both attorneys, divorced in 2008, and Stephenie died in 2011 from a rare form of cancer. That same year, K.J.’s father remarried, and a year later he and stepmother Emily adopted the child.

At the trial court, Hughes ruled Stephenie “was, remains, and always will be K.J.’s biological mother. Accordingly, [Sutliff] is the ‘maternal grandparent’ under I.C. 31-9-2-77. She may seek, pursuant to I.C. § 31-17-5-1, visitation rights with K.J. because the child’s parent is deceased, and because [Sutliff] is the biological parent of the child’s deceased biological parent.”

But the appeals panel reversed, finding that Sutliff filed her petition after K.J. had been adopted and a new birth certificate was issued listing her father and stepmother as parents.

“There is no question that Sutliff is the parent of Stephenie, who is the biological parent of K.J. Furthermore, there is no question that Jocham and Stephenie’s marriage was dissolved in 2008 or that Stephenie is now deceased,” Judge Margret Robb wrote for the unanimous panel.

“Accordingly, had Sutliff filed a petition for grandparent visitation at any time after Jocham and Stephenie filed for divorce up to the day Emily’s adoption of K.J. was final, we would agree with the trial court that she had the right to petition for visitation rights and that any visitation rights granted to her as a result of the petition survived the adoption.”

Sutliff had no notice of the adoption petition, which the panel wrote isn’t required by statute. In a footnote, the panel observed, “One way to avoid cutting off a grandparent’s opportunity to seek visitation rights by catching him or her unawares would be to amend the adoption statute to require notice of a petition for adoption be given to anyone who would be eligible under the (Grandparent Visitation Act) to seek grandparent visitation rights as of the time the petition is filed.”

“We sympathize with Sutliff’s plight, and we recognize that, especially in family law matters, more is undoubtedly involved than the legally relevant facts disclose. But the legally relevant facts are those upon which we must base our decision, and here, those facts lead inescapably to the conclusion that Sutliff had no legal right to seek grandparent visitation at the time she filed her petition,” Robb wrote. “Regrettably, in situations such as this, the result may be inequitable and may not serve the purpose of the GVA.

“However, it is not our place to judicially expand the statute beyond its explicit terms or to craft exceptions for specific circumstances. … The legislature drew a fine line on this issue between protecting intergenerational relationships and protecting newly formed adoptive family units. Stepping into the role of an adoptive parent and building a successful new family unit takes courage and support. There must be some assurance that the circumstances as they exist at the time of the adoption will not be thrown into disarray months or even years later by a grandparent newly seeking visitation.”

The case is Kirk R. Jocham v. Melba Sutliff, 29A02-1406-DR-424.

Food Inspection Reports

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Food Inspection Reports 2-5-15

USI Theatre opens new USI Performance Center with William Inge’s PICNIC

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University of Southern Indiana Theatre will start the spring 2015 season with William Inge’s Picnic. The production is part of the Repertory Project – a co-production of New Harmony Theatre and USI Theatre and will be showing February 25-March 1 in the new USI Performance Center.

Emotions are ignited among the content townsfolk when a handsome drifter arrives in a small Kansas community in the joint backyards of two middle-aged widows. One house belongs to Flo Owens, who lives with her two maturing daughters, Madge and Millie, and a boarder who is a spinster school teacher. The other house belongs to Helen Potts, who lives with her elderly and invalid mother. What will happen when their worlds are turned upside down due to love?

Elliot Wasserman, Picnic director, will be joined by a design team including USI student AJ Jones as costume designer and faculty members Karen Jordan as dance choreographer, Eric Altheide as fight choreographer, Eric Cope as lighting designer and Kevin Gray as sound designer. USI welcomes guest scenic designer Ron Naversen, who has worked on several New Harmony Theatre productions as well as Liz Reddick, member of Actors’ Equity Association, as production stage manager.

Picnic’s cast includes professional Actors’ Equity Association members Licia Watson as Helen Potts and Leslie Alexander as Flo Owens. They are accompanied by USI students Antonio King as Hal Carter, Katie Jones as Millie Owens, Maximilian Spears as Bomber, Presley Roy as Madge Owens, Samantha Prindle as Rosemary Sydney, Craig Belwood as Alan Seymour, Melissa “Moe” Brown as Irma Kronkite, Hannah Miller as Christine Schoenwalder and Logan Vickers as Howard Bevans.

Tickets are $12 for USI students, $18 for adults, $15 for USI employees and $16 for seniors (60+) and non-USI students. Shows start at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. for the Sunday matinee. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.usi.edu/theatre or call the box office at 812-465-1668. Follow us on Facebook at USITheatre and NewHarmonyTheatre for updates and photos. USI Theatre’s final show of the spring season, Spring Awakening with book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Duncan Sheik, based on the play by Frank Wedekind, runs April 22-26. Tickets for the upcoming productions are on sale now.

All performances in the 2014-15 season contain adult themes and language. Spring Awakening also includes nudity.

Open Forum Weekend February 7-8, 2015

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Betty Knight Smith’s Obituary

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BettyKnightSmithBetty Knight (Benson) Smith, 83, of Evansville, Indiana, passed away on Wednesday, February 4, 2015 at Good Samaritan Nursing Home surrounded by her loving family.

Betty was born in Onton, Kentucky on March 10, 1931 to the late Guy D. and Ellon (Johnson) Benson. Betty was a pillar in our community, serving in both Evansville and Vanderburgh County with the Democratic Party for many years.  She served 13 years on the Evansville City Council, 8 years as Vanderburgh County Clerk, 4 years as Vanderburgh County Council, 8 years as Vanderburgh County Recorder and 10 years in the Pigeon Township Trustee’s office as a caseworker.  She was the owner of the Civic Center Inn and the Park Place Restaurant.   She was a member of National Business Women’s Association, Fraternal Order of Police, JFK Club, Young Democrats, and the Vice-President of Vanderburgh County Democratic Party.  She was a member of the Evansville Housing Authority, the Salvation Army and the Soup Kitchen.  She received the Distinguished Hoosier Award in May 2008 from Governor Mitch Daniels, the JFK Award–“Profiles in Courage,” August 9, 2008, the Evansville Black Expo, “Women’s Banquet”  Award in 1993, she was honored as the Volunteer of the Year at the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen, she received “The Enchanted Lantern” for No-Ruz Grotto, and she received the “Keys to the City” of Evansville in 1988.   Betty was a loving mother who cherished her four children and her grandchildren. Betty was a strong lady who helped improve the lives of many people in our community.  During her free moments, Betty was an avid reader, played cards and enjoyed taking care of people.

Betty is survived by her children, Rebecca Isley (David), Greg Knight, Bev Oswald (Mike Frierdich), Rhonda Clayton (Ron), all of Evansville, IN; sister, Mary Lilly Blackford (Ed); grandchildren, Zach McWilliams (Kim), Katie Fitch (Mark), Chad Oswald (Nichole), Chase Oswald, Susan Knight and Maddie Clayton; great-grandchildren, Caroline Fitch, Charlie Oswald and Rory McWilliams; and many nieces and nephews.
Betty was preceded in death by her first husband and the father of her children, Elvis Knight; second husband, Fred Smith; her parents; sisters, Loreen Donohoo and Agnes Ray; brothers, David, Gene, Olan, Sam, Frank and Dan Benson.

A celebration of Betty’s life will be held at 11:30 AM on Saturday, February 7, 2015 at Browning Funeral Home, 738 Diamond Avenue, Evansville, IN 47711 with Rev. Joe Mitchell officiating.  Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery.
Friends may visit with the family from 1:00 PM until 8:00 PM on Friday, February 6, 2015 at Browning Funeral Home and again from 9:30 AM until service time on Saturday at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 4055, Evansville, IN 47724 or Autism Speaks, 1060 State Road, Princeton, NJ 08540.

Condolences may be made online at www.browningfuneral.com.

FOOTNOTE:  As a public service to our readers we shall post any obituary without charge until further notice.  You may send you obits with pictures to mfcosby@hotmail.com. 

 

 

Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Records

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SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.
DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.

http://www.vanderburghsheriff.com/recent-booking-records.aspx

EPD Activity Report

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SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.
DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.

EPD Activity Report

Pet of the Week

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Jackie is a 4-month-old female Rex bunny! She was brought to VHS in a box with her feet taped to the bottom so she couldn’t escape when she was only 4 weeks old. Now, she’s grown up with VHS staff & volunteers handling her so she’s a very sweet & social bunny! Please don’t buy bunnies from pet stores, when sweethearts like Jackie are waiting on homes. Make her part of your family for only $30 for Adopt A Rescued Rabbit Month in February. Download an application at www.vhslifesaver.org!

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