By John Estridge
Zachary L. Bennett, 28, 9075 Indiana 101, Brookville, was arrested and charged with two really troubling crimes.
Bennett is alleged to have burned his 1-year-old on the face with a cigarette and battered a female while they were all staying at Mound Haven Motel.
According to an Investigative Narrative filed by Franklin County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Adam Henson, at 9:01 p.m., Sunday, August 8, the Franklin County Communications Center received a 911 call from another resident at the Mound Haven Motel reporting the domestic battery.
Henson was in Laurel at the time of the call where another arrest was being made in a unrelated incident. Before Henson could get to Mound Haven, two Indiana Conservation Officers, Grant Larson and Travis Stewart, who were on Indiana 101 near the Mounds Recreation entrance at the time of the 911 call, responded to the scene.
Henson got on scene six minutes after the COs and found Bennett sitting in front of the room he was renting. Bennett was in handcuffs and talking to Larson. Henson went into another room at Mound Haven and spoke with Stewart, who was, in turn, speaking to the alleged victim.
The victim said Bennett shoved her into the wall, grabbed her by the hair and threw her down. Then, she said Bennett took her toes and yanked them to the side causing them to “pop really loud.”
She had bruises on all the places she mentioned, and Stewart photographed the bruises. The victim then pointed out the burn on the child’s face. She said another person at the motel had witnessed Bennett burn the child with a cigarette a couple of days prior to the current incident. Stewart took photos of the burn.
A witness said he and a female had taken Bennett and the alleged victim to lunch earlier on Sunday. He said during the time spent going to and from lunch and lunch itself, Bennett was saying “appalling” things to the alleged victim. He said in that trip, Bennett “put hands” on the alleged victim. That witness was also in Bennett’s room Sunday night when the alleged battery took place on the female.
According to the witness, Bennett grabbed the victim by her hair and threw her down. At the time of the incident, the witness was holding the 1-year-old. The victim told the witness to run and take the child with him, which he did.
The witness said the child became burned when Bennett was holding the child, and the child was facing away from Bennett. Bennett reached around with the cigarette and put the cigarette out on the child’s face. In fact, the witness said he thought Bennett put the cigarette out in the child’s eye.
Henson then went to speak with Bennett. Bennett denied everything. Earlier, Bennett had been read his Miranda rights by the COs.
Bennett told Henson the victim threw her shoes at Bennett the night before, causing her to fall off the bed, and she hit her back on the room’s heater. Also, she stubbed her toes on the bed frame as she was chasing Bennett out of the room.
As to the child, Bennett said the child ran into some boards stacked out in front of their motel. Henson told Bennett the wound looked like a burn. Bennett responded the scab came off, making the wound look like a burn.
Henson then arrested Bennett. However, after handcuffing Bennett behind Bennett’s back, it was discovered Bennett would not fit in the back driver’s side passenger seat. Thus, Henson moved the handcuffs to Bennett’s front and put Bennett into the seat.
Bennett was charged with Battery Resulting in Bodily Injury to a Person Less Than 14 Years of Age, as a Level 5 Felony; and Domestic Battery, as a Level 6 Felony.
If convicted of a Level 5 Felony, Bennett could receive a sentence of one to six years in prison. If convicted of a Level 6 Felony, Bennett could receive a sentence of six months to 2.5 years in prison.
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