Click here The Evansville Police Officers involved in the police action shooting on Monday evening, March 25th in Posey County are identified as: 
• Officer Dave Burris, 45, and a 22 year veteran of the Evansville Police Department 
• Officer Aaron Bourland, 32, and a 6 year veteran of the Evansville Police Department 

The investigation by the Indiana State Police is continuing.

*UPDATE: Evansville Police have arrested 40 year old Donald Ray Hutchison on several charges stemming from a trailer fire at 1913 Rhode Island Dr on February 27th.  Officers were at the address for a standby for property run when Hutchison set the trailer on fire. Officer Josh Doane and Officer Zach Dickason entered the burning trailer and removed Hutchison after a struggle. Hutchison was arrested and charged with Arson, Criminal Recklessness, and Resisting Law Enforcement.


*ORIGINAL POST: Two Evansville Police Officers were assaulted while trying to remove a man from his burning trailer this afternoon (Weds. 02/27). The man’s identity is not being released at this time because he has not been charged with a crime at the time of this release. 

Officers were dispatched to 1913 Rhode Island to do a standby while a female removed some belongings. After the officers exited the trailer, the man locked the door. 

When the officers were outside, the female told them the man had put lighter fluid on the couch and she was worried he might try to hurt himself. The officers then tried to talk to him again to make sure he was not going to harm himself. When the officers got to the front door, they saw smoke in the trailer. He would not come to the door so the officers were forced to kick the door in to get in. When the officers entered the trailer, they saw several fires in the front room. The man had gone to a back room and was found lying on the floor. 

When the officers tried to remove him from the burning trailer, he began assaulting them. The officers were able to get him under control despite his resistance and the growing fire around them. 

The officers were able to get him out of the trailer safely. The man was treated at the scene for injuries he received during the struggle. One of the officers was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene. 

Any charges will be determined pending a mental health evaluation. 

Involved Officers: 
Zach Dickason 
Josh Doane 


SOURCE: Evansville Police Department - Nixle

DATE: Friday, February 1, 2013 
SUBJECT: Marijuana & K2 Arrest 
RELEASE NUMBER: 2013-NR-007 
CONTACT: Major Rick Pace 
AUTHORITY: Sheriff Eric Williams 

On Thursday, January 31st at approximately 3:00 pm, deputies from the Vanderburgh Sheriff’s Office responded to 2740 Corona Drive in regards to a complaint of an odor of marijuana coming from the building. Upon arrival, Deputy Bryan Bishop, along with Deputy Jacob Board and Mark Rasure, could smell a strong odor inside the building but were unable to determine which apartment it was coming from. 

Deputy Bryan Bishop then deployed his K9 partner “Bosko” who indicated the odor was originating from Apartment “A”. With several attempts to contact the residents, deputies did finally contact Jasmine T. Coit, who lives in the apartment and was present. When deputies questioned Coit about the smell of marijuana, Coit admitted to smoking marijuana but stated none was left in the apartment. Coit did give consent to search the apartment. Prior to searching the residence, a Jacob N. Durre, arrived and stated he too resided at the apartment. 

Deputy Bishop and his partner “Bosko” then conducted a search of the apartment which lead them to a dresser drawer in a back bedroom. Upon search of the dresser, Deputy Bishop recovered 3 baggies of marijuana weighing approximately 15 grams and smoking paraphernalia. In another drawer, Deputy Bishop recovered sandwich baggies with loose $1 bills and a shoe box which contained a large amount of currency. Deputies also located a bag in the closet which contained a large amount of currency. Additionally, deputies located a piece of mail underneath the currency belonging to Durre. A total of $48,408.00 was recovered. 

Durre and Coit then allowed deputies to search their four vehicles. Deputies recovered two handguns and ammunition from the trunk of one vehicle along with narcotics paraphernalia. 

Investigators with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Evansville-Vanderburgh Joint Narcotics Task Force (JTF) were called to assist at the scene. Detectives continued the investigation at two storage units Durre rented near South Greenriver Road and Fickas Road. Inside the storage units, detectives found a large bucket which contained approximately two pounds of suspected K2 along with paraphernalia to distribute the substance. 

Durre was placed under arrest and transported to the Vanderburgh County Confinement Center and Coit was issued a citation. 

The investigation is ongoing and future criminal charges are pending. 

FROM THE EVANSVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT FACEBOOK PAGE:
As most of you probably know, we are being sued regarding the investigation into online threats made against our officers and the community. There has been a lot of public discussion about the use of our SWAT team during the investigation. While we look forward to our day in court, we would like to make a statement to reassure the citizens of Evansville that we are a professional agency. Our actions during that investigation, while not popular with everyone, were based on information gathered from multiple sources. Some of the details of the investigation have never been discussed publically because the criminal case was still active. Although the suspect in the criminal case has just pleaded guilty, this civil suit will prevent us from releasing some of those details until we go to court.

Here are some of the concerns we want to address: 

• During this and any investigation, we follow the information. We went to the house because that is the address the threats came from. Despite the wording used by local media, we did not go to the “wrong house” nor did we “mistakenly” go to that house. The suspect admitted he was using that IP address to post the threats. That is where the information led us.
  
• The SWAT team was used because of the nature of the threat. It is easy to question this decision after the fact because we did not encounter any threats while securing the home. We feel fortunate that nobody tried to harm us, but now that is being used against us. Our SWAT team is used to secure houses for search warrants on a regular basis. We are glad they rarely end in violence. But just because they do not end in violence does not mean the use of the SWAT team was excessive.
  
• We repaired the damages to the home that day. Someone else’s criminal behavior created this event. We knew the suspect would not come down and repair the damages. We repaired the damages because walking away and saying “sorry about your luck” was not the right thing to do. Notice the criminal who created the incident is not being sued. 
  

We included the media because the public has an interest in what we do. You only have to look at Evansville Watch to see the level of interest in what is going on around Evansville. People have long complained about the veil of secrecy they felt the police have operated under. We were trying to remove that perception and have received negative feedback because of it. We have done numerous other things in the last year to open up to the public and allowing the media to be there was just one of those things. 

We ask that people allow all of the facts to come out in court before passing judgment. We appreciate the community involvement in our efforts to make Evansville a great place to live. We could not do it alone.

RELATED FROM 14NEWS: WOMAN SUES EPD AFTER OFFICERS FLASHBANG AND STORM HER HOME

Bank robbers last year walked away from federally insured banks, credit unions, savings and loan associations, and armored trucks with more than $38 million in cash, according to the last full year of FBI bank crime statistics. In one in five cases, the money was recovered. In the unsolved cases, surveillance images of suspects were often posted online—on FBI wanted posters and elsewhere—to enlist the public’s help.

To further that effort, the FBI has launched a new Wanted Bank Robbers website at bankrobbers.fbi.gov, the first national system of its kind.

The new site features a gallery of unknown suspects and a map function that plots robbery locations. Users can search by name, location, or other factors. Search results deliver a Wanted by the FBI poster that contains more images, a suspect’s full description, and a brief narrative of the crime.

“This website is an operational tool that will help law enforcement identify and prosecute bank robbers more quickly, with the public’s help,” says Jason DiJoseph, who runs the FBI’s bank robbery program at FBI Headquarters. “The idea is to make it easier for the public to recognize and turn in potential suspects and to draw connections between robberies in different cities and states.”

The FBI has had a primary role in bank robbery investigations since the 1930s, when John Dillinger and his gang were robbing banks and capturing the public’s imagination. In 1934, it became a federal crime to rob any national bank or state member bank of the Federal Reserve System. The law soon expanded to include bank burglary, larceny, and similar crimes, with jurisdiction delegated to the FBI. Today, the Bureau works with local law enforcement in bank robbery investigations, but the focus is mostly on violent or serial cases. 

“Bank robbery sounds like an old-fashioned crime, but it is a dangerous and often violent criminal act that still results in the loss of lives and takes a significant toll on local communities,” says DiJoseph.

Users of the new website can filter searches of serial and non-serial bank robbers. Following are some examples of serial cases:

• The AK-47 Bandit is sought in California, Idaho, and Washington for multiple bank robberies. The suspect often wears tactical gear and is armed with an AK-47-style assault rifle. Details
  
• A white male, aged 30-40, is wanted in Washington in connection with five armed bank robberies in the Seattle area since September. Details
  
• Two black males, believed to be in their 20s, are wanted in Virginia in connection with four armed bank robberies in March and April. Details

The bank crime statistics bear out the Bureau’s emphasis on violent cases. While demand notes are bank robbers’ most frequently used tools (2,958 times in 2011), they are followed by firearms (1,242 times) and the mere threat of weapons (2,331 times) or explosive devices (154 times).

Of the 5,086 bank robberies, burglaries, and larcenies last year, 201 included acts of violence; 70 involved the discharge of firearms. Thirteen people were killed during bank robberies last year, though it was usually the perpetrator (10 incidents).

The new Wanted Bank Robbers website will include the most pressing bank robbery cases from the FBI’s 56 field offices. In the coming weeks and months, new features and more suspects will be added, creating a fuller picture of the nation’s most-wanted bank robbers.


SOURCE: www.fbi.gov

The Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Marshal's Sex Offender Unit and Fugitive Task Force, the Indiana Department of Corrections Parole and the Indiana State Police conducted a Sex and Violent Offender Verification Exercise on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week (Dec. 4th & 5th). The purpose of this event was to do a sweeping and unexpected check of the validity of the reported addresses and other information provided by many of those individuals who are currently registered with the Vanderbugh County Sex and Violent Offender Registry  These verified address are then recorded and shown on the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Sex or Violent Offender website. 

This sweep is in addition to the random and directed checks that are conducted regularly during the periods of time between mandated registrations. 

Information collected will help keep the Vanderburgh County Sex and Violent Offender website up to date and as accurate as possible. Residents of Vanderburgh County can visit the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's website and navigate to the Indiana Sex and Violent Offender web page to search for addresses and names of participating offenders in your area by typing www.vanderburghsheriff.com. 

The results of the verification are:

• 203 - Verified sex or violent offenders
• 37 - Not verified. We will continue to work to verify these. When verified, if found to be not compliant with their   requirements, criminal charges will be pursued.
• 10 - Criminal reports for non-compliance with the registry requirements
• 1 - Felony arrest related to absconded sex offenders
• 4 - Misdemeanor citations for invalid or improper identifications
• 10 - Unrelated felony arrests ranging from active warrants to narcotics possession

SOURCE: Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office News Release - December 6, 2012

Today at approximately 4:55 p.m., Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Deputies were advised of a hit & run crash that occurred on the Lloyd Expressway westbound near Rosenberger Ave. The reporter stated that they were rear ended and the suspect vehicle backed up, drove around them and left the scene of the crash. The suspect vehicle was described as a blue Jeep and the reporter was able to give a partial license plate number. 

Approximately three minutes later, deputies in the area observed a vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle traveling southbound on Red Bank Road at the intersection of the Lloyd Expressway. The deputies then observed the vehicle turn west on the Lloyd Expressway,  squealing its tires and sideswiping another vehicle traveling westbound. 

Deputies were able to catch up with the suspect near Boehne Camp Road and attempted to make a traffic stop. The driver initially stopped but then sped away from them, the vehicle headed south on Boehne Camp Road. The vehicle pulled into the driveway at 736 S Boehne Camp Road. The suspect ran into the home located at this address.

Vanderburgh County Sheriff Deputies and Evansville Police Officers arrived at this address and were able to determine that the suspect was James E. Boyd of Evansville. Deputies gave command for Boyd to come out of the house but he refused to do so. A sheriff's K-9 entered the house and the subject was apprehended without further incident. 

Boyd was initially taken to Deaconess Hospital where he was treated and released for a minor dog bite. Boyd was then transported to Vanderburgh County Jail and charged with multiple charges including hit and run, resisting arrest and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. 

Arrested: James E Boyd, 34 of Evansville


SOURCE: Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office News Release - December 5, 2012

Evansville, Indiana - United States Attorney Joseph H. Hogsett, joined by Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Dennis Whichern and U.S. Marshal Kerry Forestal, today presented more than one-hundred pairs of designer shoes to Vanderburgh County Sheriff Eric Williams as part of what federal authorities have dubbed "Operation Goodwill." The shoes were seized from an Evansville drug dealer and will be distributed by Sheriff Williams through the Evansville-Vanderburgh County School Corporation's PTA Clothing Bank. 

"This program is a true win-win..it saves Hoosier tax dollars and it will help strengthen community efforts here in Evansville designed to keep drugs out of our schools," Hogsett said. "I believe it also sends an important message that if you engage in criminal behavior such as drug dealing, you will be caught and your ill-gotten gains will be taken away from you."

On November 22, 2012, members of the Evansville Police Department executed a search warrant at the residence of Seth Merrick on Greenfield Road in Evansville. Merrick was arrested for his involvement in the trafficking of hundreds of pounds of marijuana in the Evansville area and law enforcement seized 115 pairs of designer shoes, all of which were unworn and in boxes. 

Merrick, who had prior drug convictions from 2001 and 2005, was convicted and sentenced in May 2011 to two years of incarceration. His prosecution was the result of an investigation by the DEA's Evansville Task Force, which includes members of the Evansville Police Department, the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office, the Vincennes Police Department, the Daviess County Sheriff's Office and the Indiana State Police. 

Subsequently, Hogsett, Wichern and Forestal proposed to transfer the seized shoes to Sheriff Williams as part of "Operation Goodwill," a 15 year-old federal program designed to build goodwill between law enforcement in the community. This proposal was accepted and the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office plans to distribute the shoes throughout the community to youths in need in conjunction with the PTA Clothing Bank program.


SOURCE: Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office & Department of Justice News Release - December 4, 2012

At approximately 12:03 a.m. today, the Evansville Police Department was dispatched to the Marathon station located at 2905 Broadway Ave in reference to a criminal mischief report. The reporter alleged that the suspect had smashed a window in his car with a golf club. Upon arrival, EPD officers determined that the alleged incident had occurred at 6011 Short Selzer Road which is outside of the Evansville city limits. 

At approximately 1:03 a.m. today, deputies of the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to the Marathon station to take the report. After meeting with the victim of the criminal mischief, deputies went to the 6011 Short Selzer Road address to follow up on the complaint and look for the suspect, who has been identified as Lindal M. Johnson (DOB: 12/27/56) of the Short Selzer Rd address. The first deputy arrived at the Short Selzer Road address at approximately 1:35 a.m. and the second deputy at 1:38 a.m.

Based upon the initial review of the crime scene, information obtained from involved persons and other sources, it is believed that while the two deputies were talking to the suspect of the criminal mischief, he became agitated and aggressive. The suspect was positioned where he had access to a large array of items that could be and were used as weapons.

While in this aggressive state, the suspect attacked the deputies with a variety of objects including a hatchet.   During the attack the deputies deployed their taser devices. The taser devices were not effective in stopping the suspect's aggressive actions. At 1:54 a.m., one of the involved deputies called "shots fired" from the scene. During the altercation, both deputies fired their weapons at the suspect fatally wounding him.

An American Medical Response ambulance and Perry Township Suburban Fire Department were both dispatched to the scene to render emergency medical care to the suspect. Medical personnel determined on scene that the suspect was dead and they would not be able to revive him. 

The Vanderburgh County Coroner's Office is scheduled to conduct an autopsy on the decedent today. 

The deputies involved were Deputy Kevin Hertweck and Deputy Tony Toopes. In accordance with VCSO guidelines, both deputies were relieved from duty for the remainder of the shift. 

At the culmination of the investigation, a case file will be delivered to the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor's Office for their review. A separate administrative investigation is being conducted regarding the deputies actions and their compliance with VCSO policy. 

The investigation is ongoing. There is no further information available at this time. 


SOURCE: Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office News Release - December 4, 2012

The Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office and the Evansville Police Department arrested Anthony Ulm over the weekend. Ulm was developed as a suspect in several vehicle thefts throughout Evansville, Vanderburgh County and several other surrounding southwest Indiana counties. Ulm targeted construction vehicles and vehicles parked at motels and restaurants.

Law enforcement observed Ulm break into a truck near Christian Fellowship Church on Millersburg Road. Officers kept him under surveillance as he drove to Boeke Road near the Lloyd Expressway. There, he started to remove articles from another vehicle. He was taken into custody at that time. 

A search of a residence on McCutchan Road as well as Ulm's residence on Taft Avenue yielded tens of thousands of dollars in suspect stolen items. The items included construction tools, bicycles, firearms, golf clubs and hunting equipment. 

Ulm is being held at the Vanderburgh County Jail on 3 counts of theft without bond pending an initial court appearance. More charges will likely be filed once victims are notified of recovered property. Detectives are contacting area law enforcement agencies to see if Ulm is connected to any open cases in their jurisdictions. 

Ulm refused to give a statement. He was on work release from Warrick County at the time of his arrest.

Arrested: Anthony B. Ulm, 36, of Evansville
Charges: 3 counts of Theft, a class D felony 


SOURCE: Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office News Release - December 3, 2012