HANCOCK COUNTY — A traffic stop on the interstate Tuesday morning left three Hancock County sheriff’s deputies with injuries after the suspect they were attempting to apprehend became combative as he tried to flee.
One deputy was hit by the suspect’s car as it rolled in reverse, causing him to fall to the ground, officials said. Another was struck with the probe of a Taser. A third told his fellow investigators the suspect tried to wrestle his department-issued handgun out of his utility belt during the struggle.
All those who suffered injuries are expected to fully recover, though some were still off of work Wednesday as their colleagues investigated the incident further.
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They found 3.5 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, thousands of dollars in cash and several fake IDs in the man’s car. Now, sheriff’s detectives are trying to determine the suspect’s true identity, Capt. Robert Campbell told the Daily Reporter.
The man is known to police by at least three aliases, records show.
He was booked into the Hancock County Jail midday Tuesday under the name Jon Doe with with an address in Avon. He faces preliminary charges of drug dealing, criminal recklessness, resisting law enforcement and disarming a law enforcement officer, among other allegations.
The man is also known by the names Brandon Young and George West. Campbell said detectives, at press time, believe the man’s real name is George West.
A woman who was in the car with West at the time incident — Ashley Livingston, 22, of Akron, Ohio — was also taken into custody and booked into the jail on a preliminary charge of drug dealing.
Prosecutors expect to file formal criminal charges against the pair soon.
The incident happened just before 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the eastbound rest stop along Interstate 70 in Hancock County, east of the Greenfield exit, Campbell said.
Members of the Pro-Active Criminal Enforcement, or PACE, team — a multiagency task force that patrols Interstate 70 from Marion County to the Ohio line — tried to stop a vehicle for tailgating and making unsafe lane movements.
The driver pulled into a rest stop parking lot and at first appeared to cooperate with officers.
The man handed police identification that listed his name as “Jon Doe.” The officers quickly determined the man’s ID was a fake, and they asked him and his passenger to exit the vehicle.
While one deputy spoke with the driver, another had his K9 officer sniff around the exterior of the car.
The dog indicated drugs were inside the vehicle, Campbell said. That’s when the man tried to flee.
He ran back toward his vehicle, and the deputies tried to stop him as they called for backup.
He fought officers as they tried to apprehend him, Campbell said.
From the driver’s seat, the man knocked his car into reverse. As the vehicle rolled backward, it crashed into a parked county squad car and then struck Deputy Gary Achor, who was knocked to the ground, Campbell said.
One officer tried to use a stun gun on the man to subdue him, Campbell said. One probe from the Taser cartridge hit Deputy Paul Whittington in the hand.
Deputy Nick Ernstes also suffered minor injuries in the struggle, Campbell said. Ernstes told his fellow investigators the suspect grabbed at his department-issued handgun, which was holstered, Campbell said.
None of the officers was seriously injured, but all involved were checked by fire department medics at the scene. Achor and Ernstes were taken to Hancock Regional Hospital to also be checked by doctors.
West was also taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries before being transported to the jail.
In all, 19 county law enforcement, as well as a few Indiana State Police troopers, assisted with the call in some way.
West — under the name Jon Doe — is being held in the jail on eight preliminary charges. They are: resisting law enforcement; resisting law enforcement, causing injury; criminal recklessness; criminal mischief; disarming a law enforcement officer; dealing a schedule 1 controlled substance; battery on a public safety official; and battery resulting in injury.
Livingston is being held on a preliminary charges of dealing a narcotic drug, records show.