HANCOCK COUNTY — A Hancock County man charged with rape and furnishing alcohol to a minor took his own life Friday afternoon as law enforcement officers attempted to take him into custody.
Members of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department attempted to serve an arrest warrant for Jeffrey Stearns, 39, at his residence in the 500 block of East County Road 500S at about 1:30 p.m. July 2.
Officers made contact with Stearns, who exchanged words with the officers before retreating into a barn on the property, according to a news release from the sheriff’s department. Officers remained outside the barn and heard a single gunshot coming from inside a few moments later.
Members of the Hancock County Joint Tactical Team were then called to the residence. At about 2:45 p.m., the tactical team located Stearns in the barn dead from a single self-inflicted gunshot wound. No one else was in the barn at the time of the incident, the release states.
The Hancock County Sheriff’s Department is continuing the investigation.
Capt. Robert Harris with the sheriff’s department confirmed the arrest warrant for Stearns resulted from charges of rape and furnishing alcohol to a minor.
According to online court records, a Level 3 felony charge of rape, two Class B misdemeanor charges of furnishing alcohol to a minor and a Class C infraction of furnishing alcohol to a minor were filed against Stearns in Hancock County Circuit Court on Friday.
