HANCOCK COUNTY — A 911 caller who spotted people jumping in front of cars led to nine arrests by the county underage drinking task force.
It’s the eighth party broken up by a special patrol team since the beginning of the year, marking at least 50 underage-drinking arrests, according to nonprofit Neighborhoods Against Substance Abuse, which funds the Hancock County Underage Drinking Task Force.
County dispatchers received a call at about 11 p.m. Friday that people were jumping out at cars as they drove down County Road 200N, said Shirley Police Department Marshal Brian Pryor. When a Hancock County sheriff’s deputy arrived at 6165 W. County Road 200N, he alerted the task force, and two officers were dispatched to the outdoor party, Pryor said.
Officers from the Shirley and Greenfield police departments as well as a deputy from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department were dispatched to the scene, he said.
Multiple people ran from the officers into nearby corn and bean fields and a tree line, he said. Seven 18- and 19-year olds and two juveniles were arrested at the scene, he said.
Adults arrested and charged with illegal consumption of an alcoholic beverage were:
Taelor D. Henderson, 19, 3873 Burning Bush Drive, Indianapolis;
Abigail P. Messersmith, 18, 10891 Grace Drive, Ingalls;
Kyle M. Messersmith, 19, 6659 W. Denton Drive, McCordsville;
Nicholas J. Vella, 18, 12326 Riley Road, Indianapolis;
Donavyn A. Ball, 19, 5707 W. Port Drive, McCordsville;
Clarence E. Webb, 18, 7865 E. 47th St., Indianapolis;
Jayden M. Weileman, 18, 7555 W. County Road 600N, McCordsville.
Illegal consumption of an alcoholic beverage by a minor is a Class C misdemeanor. As of Monday Ball was the only person arrested remaining in the Hancock County Jail.
The Friday night party marked the second underage drinking party in as many weeks broken up by police. Nearly a dozen people were arrested July 2, records show.
Those arrested on July 2 were:
Conner V. Marcum, 20, 2066 E. Eden Road, Greenfield;
Bobby J. Mathis, 20, 216 W. North St., Greenfield;
Charles A. Springman, 20, 505 Runnymede Court, Greenfield;
Terry M. Tucker III, 19, 9726 S. Court Road 250E, Markleville;
Bailey L. Grigsby, 20, 3357 S. County Road 50W, Greenfield;
Cassandra N. Dillon, 18, 820 W. Walnut St., Greenfield;
Tara Lynch, 20, 6006 Hollythorn Place, Carmel;
Jack Flowers, 20, 14549 Allison Drive, Carmel;
Ryan A. Shade, 20, 1397 Stoneycreek Cross, Carmel;
Javier Colon, 20, 13176 Beckwith Drive, Westfield;
Thomas Lebin, 20, 323 Catalpa Court, Noblesville.
An initial hearing was conducted July 5, where Marcum, Mathis, Springman, Tucker and Grigsby pleaded guilty to the charge of illegal consumption of alcohol. Each was fined $585 in court costs and sentenced to a year on probation, according to court records.
Dillon, Lynch, Flowers, Shade, Colon and Lebin pleaded not guilty. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 24 in Hancock County Superior Court 2.
The underage-drinking task force, created in 2013, comprises more than 30 officers from every law enforcement agency in the county. Together, they put extra manpower on the streets, coordinate with school officials to share information about rumors of parties and educate teens about the dangers of binge-drinking.
Since its inception, more than 300 teens have been arrested for underage drinking because of the task force’s efforts, officials said.
