By John Estridge
It took awhile but law enforcement agencies working in Franklin County finally caught a man who had five outstanding arrest warrants after a foot chase Thursday, January 14.
William L. Crank, 24, Glenwood, has several pending cases in Franklin Circuit Court. Among those charges are Dealing in Methamphetamine 10 Grams or More, as a Level 2 Felony; and Possession of Methamphetamine Between 10 and 28 Grams, as a Level 4 Felony. Charges were filed in that case on August 31, 2019. Apparently, he bonded out on those charges but did not show up for his Initial Hearing scheduled for October 2, 2019.
According to information filed on December 20, 2020, Franklin County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Dustin Hill stopped a vehicle for a mechanical issue in Laurel after it turned onto Jackson Street from Indiana 121. It was 11:42 p.m.
When Hill went to the vehicle and spoke with the driver of the vehicle, Johnnie Hammons Jr., 32, Laurel, Hill noticed a half-smoked marijuana joint sitting on the center console between the driver and the passenger. The passenger was later identified as Crank.
Before that identification was made, Hill put Hammons in cuffs for Possession of Marijuana, and took him to the back of the vehicle. He did the same for Crank. Hill then went back to the suspects’ vehicle to retrieve the registration. While Hill did that, Crank, while handcuffed, fled the scene on foot. Hammons told Hill the person who fled was Crank.
Hill notified Franklin County Communications located at the Franklin County Security Center about Crank taking off. It was at that time, dispatchers informed Hill of Crank’s outstanding warrants. With Hammons still in handcuffs, Hill had no choice but to stay with Hammons and call for help.
Two Franklin County deputies, Jeremy Noah and Kyle Hartman, arrived along with Laurel Police Department Officer Brian Reams. They searched the area but were unable to find Crank.
For that situation, Crank was charged, along with the Possession of Marijuana, as a class B misdemeanor; with Escape, as a Level 5 Felony; and Theft for taking the handcuffs, as a class A misdemeanor.
Then, on Monday, January 4, Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy John Roberts was contacted by Indiana State Police Detective Rick Shoemaker. Shoemaker said he was following a vehicle that pulled into Pavey’s parking lot in Metamora. Shoemaker said the vehicle had pulled onto Indiana 121 from Stipps Hill Road. Shoemaker said he believed the person driving the car was Crank.
According to Shoemaker, he was going to park at the Metamora Fire Department, which is near Pavey’s and keep the vehicle under surveillance. Later, Shoemaker told Roberts the vehicle left Pavey’s and went north on Duck Creek Road, which is across U.S. 52 from Pavey’s. The suspect’s vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed.
At that time, Roberts was in Brookville. He started west toward Metamora on U.S. 52. By radio, Shoemaker gave Roberts information about where the suspect’s vehicle was during the ensuing pursuit. Roberts contacted Franklin County Sheriff’s Department Major Gregory Mehlbauer. Mehlbauer headed to the Indiana 1/Duck Creek Road intersection north of Brookville in an attempt to cut off the suspect’s vehicle.
Roberts, by hearing the suspect’s vehicle’s progress, turned off U.S. 52 onto Yellow Bank Road. He then turned right onto McGuire Ridge Road. At that time, Shoemaker radioed they were still on Duck Creek Road and had passed its intersection with Lower Smokey Hollow Road. As Roberts continued on McGuire Ridge Road, the suspect’s vehicle passed Roberts going in the other direction.
Roberts turned his vehicle around and initiated his siren. The suspect’s vehicle continued on at a high rate of speed. Roberts then saw a large amount of dust. When he arrived at the area where the dust was, he saw tire tracks leaving McGuire Ridge Road and going to the edge of a drained pond off the road.
Mehlbauer arrived at the scene, and the two deputies went to the vehicle to find it was abandoned. A cell phone was on the front passenger seat, which Roberts secured. Roberts checked the registration on the vehicle, and it belonged to a Connersville resident.
A nearby resident operating a quad runner pulled up to the deputies and asked if they were looking for someone. The resident had been running his trap lines and met a male near the power lines in that area. Roberts got on the quad runner with the resident, and they went to where the resident had spotted and talked with the male.
Roberts then got off the quad and started searching on foot. Also involved in the search were Shoemaker and Indiana Conservation Officers Grant Larson and Travis Wooley.
However, Crank could not be found. The officers went back to where the car was parked. The resident on the quad was at the site. Roberts showed the resident a photo of Crank, and the resident confirmed the person he spoke to by the power lines was Crank.
The property owner where the car had been left asked for the car not to be moved because it was too muddy. He asked the officers to wait until the ground firmed up. Roberts, Ron Jolliff of Jolliff Towing and Mehlbauer went down to the car to inventory it. Mehlbauer recovered a pair of handcuffs Crank was allegedly wearing when he ran from the traffic stop in Laurel on December 20, 2020, Roberts said.
Crank was charged with Resisting Law Enforcement, as a Level 6 Felony, as a result of the event.
On Thursday, January 14, ISP Trooper Randel Miller arrested Hammons Jr. at 7 a.m., on Stipps Hill Road on two outstanding warrants. Apparently, officers believed Crank was in the area. Later, a Stipps Hill Road resident reported a male hanging around her residence.
According to ISP Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, the ISP-All Crimes Policing Team responded to the area. This included a K-9. Crank was tracked north from Stipps Hill Road, across U.S. 52 at Jackson Hill and was eventually captured on foot behind a residence on Jackson Hill. It was 10:27 a.m.
Hill, who was on Indiana 121 at the time as part of the search, took Crank to the Franklin County Security Center where he was incarcerated.
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