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Vigo sheriff candidates spar in forum
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (Tribune Star) - The Vigo County Council room was packed as audience members spilled into the hall Thursday evening, all to hear four candidates offer themselves up for the position of sheriff.
With the primary election just five days away, the League of Women Voters of Vigo County and the Tribune-Star hosted a Sheriff Candidate Forum inside the Vigo County Annex, with questions asked in turn to Democrats Vigo County Sheriff Deputy Chief Greg Ewing, Vigo County Sheriff Deputy Lt. Tim Gossett, former assistant chief of the Terre Haute Police Department and current officer Jeff Trotter, and Republican Denzil Lewis, a member of the Terre Haute City Police Department and Vigo County Drug Task Force.
Tribune-Star editor and forum moderator Max Jones initiated the hour-and-a-half program by invoking a sense of civility and decorum he described as absent in the current political atmosphere. “It is not easy being an elected official these days. It is not easy being a candidate for public office,” he said, leading the audience in applause for the service offered.
The challenge of balancing public safety against crippling budget cuts was the evening’s theme as the candidates differed widely in their proposed approaches.
In his opening remarks, Ewing pledged to work with legislators on bills which would require registered sex offenders be monitored with GPS units after their release from incarceration. Vigo County currently has about 206 registered sex offenders, he said, referring to them as “sickos” from whom the public needs protection. Sex offenders, he said, are statistically “average” people with jobs and incomes and can be expected to offset the cost through mandated fees.
When the idea was brought up for further discussion in the forum, the other three candidates unanimously described the idea as impossible in practice.
Lewis, Trotter and Gossett quoted figures they said were provided by fellow candidate Karen Cross stating that the cost of starting up 200 GPS units would be about $1.2 million. Once released from prison, the individuals are typically unemployed, they said, meaning the county would bear the cost. Constitutionally, the measure is questionable considering the sex offenders’ time served, they added. Given the state of the county’s budget and the need for fiscal cuts, the program would be undoable, they said one after another, as Lewis pointed out multiple times that the county’s current sex offender registry is not in compliance, an issue which must be addressed before a GPS system could be implemented.
On the question of community outreach programs and group membership, the candidates also split dramatically. Ewing and Gossett described a sheriff’s participation in community organizations as very important, while Lewis and Trotter deemed it almost detrimental.
“I have an agency to run and right now I see an agency in crisis,” Lewis said, reiterating his theme of fiscal and operational mismanagement within the current administration. Lewis said he plans to work the roads and jail alongside his deputies, cutting costs and increasing coverage, something which will consume all of his time. “I won’t be on any boards. If you ask, don’t get your feelings hurt, but I’ll say no.”
Trotter offered similar comments, describing the role of the sheriff as that of a leader. Working deputies need to be part of a “community police force,” involved on the ground level, he said, adding that he wants to develop more department-related mentoring programs for recovering drug addicts.
The issue of expense-management seemed to lurk behind every topic and Trotter referred to the jail as “a money pit.”
Reducing prescription drug costs and weighing the $150,000 jail physician contract against a hospital bidding system were among his suggestions, as well as applying for federal grant money as many of the inmates are on government welfare programs already. The current administration, he said, has averaged a $400,000-per-year deficit annually for eight years, he said.
Likewise, Lewis said the $300,000 the jail went over-budget on inmate medical expenses last year has to be stopped, and agreed with Gossett that small changes can add up to big savings in the long-run by re-examining prescription drug programs and physician usage.
While Ewing agreed the budget has to be protected, he pointed out that some expenses are unforeseen. Referring to fuel price spikes in the past, when the cost of gasoline jumped above $4 per gallon, Ewing said some expenses are unavoidable. The jail has also held inmates arrested on felony charges who required triple-bypass surgery. Failing to provide adequate medical care to inmates, he said, can and has led to lost lawsuits.
When asked their goals for their first 100 days in office, Trotter listed a complete restructuring of the department as his priority. The goal, he said, is to put as many deputies on the road as possible, reaching the rural areas currently underserved. Reducing jail spending is also a must.
Gossett echoed the comments on a need for department-wide restructuring which, he said, won’t be popular as officers currently serving administrative roles are put out on the roads. Hearkening back to his own career with the department, Gossett said he remembers working the 3 to 11 p.m. shift as painful in some respects as he didn’t get to see his kids as much, but in the end, more officers are needed on the roads.
Lewis said getting the department’s sex offender registry back into compliance is a must, as well as managing the jail overcrowding. Currently, between 30 and 40 inmates are released each Friday to make room for new arrests, something he hopes to cure with community corrections-style programs. “We have to get that under control,” he said, adding that he, too, wants to restructure the department to put more officers on the roads.
Ewing agreed that something needs done about the overcrowding. “The jail would be my first focus,” he said. But on the topic of potentially unpopular departmental restructuring, Ewing said he plans to take more of a consensus approach to the task, bringing members of the team into the discussion as opposed to issuing what he described as a fist-pounding method.
19 indicted as part of Terre Haute meth ring
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Nineteen people were charged Thursday with conspiracy to distribute to methamphetamine after a massive drug bust in Terre Haute. Federal agents seized over 200 pounds of marijuana, more than $100,000 cash and 1 1/2 pounds of methamphetamine. In a stunning turn, authorities say the drug ring was run by a man already in prison. Police say 39-year-old Wesley Hammond ran the operation with a smuggled cell phone out of his prison cell at the New Castle Indiana Correctional Institution. "If there's one place where you should not be able to run a drug trafficking operation in the United States, it's within a prison," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Blackintgon. "To me, this is absolutely appalling." Authorities say Hammond's girlfriend, Jennifer Poltrock, 28, managed operations out of her home on South 14th Street in Terre Haute. According to police, this group took over meth distribution in the Wabash Valley after the Welker-Shaw drug bust in 2008. "Everytime we take down a criminal organization, there's just no lack of individuals who want to step up and fill that void," Denzil Lewis of the Vigo County Drug Task Force said. A violent group, most of the 19 had criminal histories ranging from dealing cocaine and dealing meth to battery and criminal recklessness resulting in serious injury. Now all 19 face a minimum 10 years to life in prison. Those with prior drug convictions face a minimum 20 years. Authorities say they expect more arrests tied to this ring in the future. These 19 are due in federal court Monday for their initial hearing. The following law enforcement agencies assisted in these arrests:
Evansville office of the Drug Enforcement Administration
Vigo County Drug Task Force
Vigo County Prosecutor's Office
Indiana State Police
Vincennes Police Department.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms
Federal Bureau of Investigation
U.S. Marshall's Service
Clay County Sheriff's Department
Other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies
The following were arrested as part of the alleged methamphetamine trafficking ring:
Wesley S. Hammond, 39, New Castle (Indiana) Correctional Institution
Jennifer L. Poltrock, 28, Terre Haute, Indiana
Dustin M. McCombs, 22, Terre Haute, Indiana
David J. Pitts, 39, Terre Haute, Indiana
Bradley S. Shelton, 34, Terre Haute, Indiana
Antrio D. Hammond, 31, Indianapolis, Indiana
Jwuan Moreland, 35, Terre Haute, Indiana
Rae Anna Johnson, 65, Terre Haute, Indiana
Keith C. Pitts, 19, Terre Haute, Indiana
John Mikolajczyk, 41, Terre Haute, Indiana
Jeffrey L. Denny, 34, Terre Haute, Indiana
Megan E. Samuels, 21, Terre Haute, Indiana
Michael E. Adkins, 26, Terre Haute, Indiana
Herbert D. Phipps, 53, Terre Haute, Indiana
Ahmad Hadi, 50, Terre Haute, Indiana
Dennis D. Plummer, 36, Terre Haute, Indiana
Melissa Van Ness, 36, Terre Haute, Indiana
Timothy Bailey, 48, Terre Haute, Indiana
Susie Annette Smith, Terre Haute, Indiana
Three arrested in meth lab bust
VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) -Three people are behind bars after a meth lab bust at a Terre Haute home. Police discovered a meth lab Sunday evening at a home located at 817 Lafayette Avenue in Terre Haute. Police arrested three people, Ricky Lee Newlin, Karen Causey and Wanda Schatz at the home. Police said Newlin admitted to cooking meth at his home for the past month. Four grams of manufactured meth were found in the home. Newlin is facing a charge of manufacturing meth. Causey and Schatz face charges of possession of meth and visiting or maintaining a common nuisance.
Police arrest six in meth bust
VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - More than 70 officers joined forces to take down a massive drug operation in southern Vigo County. Early Thursday morning, multiple police agencies raided two houses on Robertson Road. Police believe the people living here are major meth dealers.Six people were arrested and taken to the Vigo County Jail. "We utilized our explosive ordinance technicians, our robot systems and such to make sure there were no explosives in the residence," Sgt. Joe Watts of the Indiana State Police said. The two houses were equipped with several cameras, including one in a birdhouse. "As technology becomes more readily available to these individuals, they are utilizing technology the same as we are," Denzil Lewis of the Terre Haute Police Department said. As some officers raided the houses, there were even officers waiting in the nearby Wabash River. "We have eight people in boats, Indiana State Troopers behind these residences on the water in the darkness," Watts said.
Federal drug arrests common to area
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - The case against Vigo County Commissioner David Decker is the latest in a string of federal drug arrests in the Wabash Valley. Police are always investigating possible drug cases in the Wabash Valley. Some end in a big arrest, like this drug raid last December, which ended with 20 arrests for meth in Vigo County. Back in 2006, 21 arrests were made in Clay County to crack down on methamphetamine trafficking. It may seem like there are more federal cases than normal, but Denzel Lewis of the Vigo County Drug Task Force said there is reason for that. Lewis said the investigation continues long after the arrests are made. Then, more evidence is gathered, which can lead them to other arrests. Lewis said meth has been a long time problem in the Wabash Valley. "You have to realize methameptamine is no longer a biker drug. It crosses all socially-economic classes, so I don't find it that unusual," Lewis said. He said Decker is not the first time an elected official has been involved with drugs. Lewis said he believes this is a problem in politics. "Government leaders are not subject to urine analysis or drug screenings, whereas law enforcement are, firemen are,” Lewis said. The judge released Decker until his next hearing, but did order Decker to random drug screenings A date for Decker's plea agreement hearing has not yet been set.
Denzil Lewis announces run for Sheriff
www.wthitv.com --One more name was thrown into the hat for Vigo County Sheriff on Friday. Friday afternoon, the chairman of the Republic Party Bill Treadway introduced Denzil Lewis as a new candidate for Sheriff at the Vigo County Courthouse. Lewis has spent the past 23 years serving on the Terre Haute Police Department. During his time he has worked in the street crime unit, detective, and on the Vigo County Drug Taskforce. "I have seen some of the things that have happened and I have seen some of the things that I would like to change. So I thought rather than sit around and talk about it why don't I try and change it," Denzil Lewis said. Karen Cross, Greg Ewing, Tim Gossett and Jeff Trotter are also on the ballot. The primary election will be on Tuesday, May 4th.