In Monroe County courts: Updates on major criminal cases from 2022
The Herald-Times is committed to tracking criminal cases the newspaper reports on as they proceed through the judicial system.
Here the H-T is providing updates compiled by reviewing court records for the status of criminal cases that made the news in 2022.
Man who hid from police in storm sewer remains in jail
Eli Swartzentruber, who police tracked for seven hours through Bloomington’s storm sewer system in September 2022, is still being held at the Monroe County Jail on multiple felonies: confinement, battery with a deadly weapon, intimidation, sexual battery, and residential entry. He also faces three misdemeanors: two counts of battery and striking a law enforcement animal.
Swartzentruber descended into Bloomington's underground storm sewer system to elude police on Sept. 20, 2022. He was 37 and charged with crimes from the sewer incident, as well as sexual battery, residential entry and confinement related to a break-in at a woman's home earlier that day.
His cases that have bond totaling $57,000 surety and $1,500 cash. Monroe Circuit Judge Valeri Haughton has denied multiple requests for a bond reduction. Nearly a year ago, during a Jan. 31 court hearing, the judge said she would consider releasing Swartzentruber only if he were sent to a residential treatment facility that offered mental health treatment. That didn’t happen.
He was transported to Daviess County in November 2023 for a hearing in a case where he had pleaded guilty in 2021 to battery against a public safety official and received a 720-day suspended sentence to be spent on probation. Since he was on probation for that offense when the Monroe County crimes were charged, the Daviess County judge revoked the days and ordered them served.
Swartzentruber has a hearing set for Jan. 22 before Judge Haughton.
More: Man who fled into storm sewer was wanted by police for alleged assault on woman
Trial set for Madelyn Howard, accused of killing IU student riding scooter
A trial date has been set for a woman charged with striking and killing an IU student while driving drunk in September 2022.
Nathaniel Stratton was 20 years old when he died after a car allegedly driven by then-20-year-old Madelyn Howard veered off North Walnut Street near Domino's Pizza. The vehicle hit Stratton as the IU junior and business major rode a scooter on Sept. 18. Howard reportedly left the scene without stopping, but was found nearby and taken to jail. Her blood-alcohol level was reported at .226, nearly three times the legal limit for intoxication.
She is charged with four felonies: leaving the scene of a fatal accident, causing a death while driving while intoxicated, causing death while driving with a blood-alcohol content above .08 and reckless homicide. A five-day jury trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 26 in Judge Fawcett's court.
Stratton's parents have filed a civil lawsuit against Howard for causing their son's death and against Kilroy's Sports Bar, where they allege employees continued to serve alcohol to Howard, who was employed there, when she was visibly intoxicated.
From May 2023: Kilroy's Sports added as defendant in lawsuit over IU student's scooter death
Man accused of rape in a downtown parking garage awaits trial
Andre Hardy, an Illinois resident accused of the September 2022 rape of an 18-year-old in a downtown parking garage, remains at the Monroe County Jail. The charges against him are two counts of rape, criminal confinement and sexual battery. He has a hearing scheduled before Judge Haughton Jan. 22.
His initial $100,000 bond was reduced to $50,000 plus $500 cash in December 2022, but Hardy hasn’t posted the required $5,500.
Hardy's arrest: Illinois man arrested for recent rape at downtown Bloomington parking garage
Trial date set for murder of Tyshawn Carter at Kinser Flats
Kendrick Q. Webb, accused of murder and illegal possession of a gun in connection with the August killing of 28-year-old Tyshawn Carter at Kinser Flats, is in jail on a half-million-dollar bond. But it looks as if a trial in the case is on the horizon. Judge Haughton has scheduled a pre-trial hearing for Feb. 22, and a five-day jury trial is set to begin on March 4.
Killing at Kinser Flats: Bloomington police seek suspect in Wednesday shooting that killed local man
Woman accused of drunken driving crash that killed Richard Compion remains jailed
The driver charged in an Aug. 6, 2022, fatal crash has been an inmate at the Monroe County Jail since her arrest that month. Charity Dawn Hall is accused of killing Richard L. Compion and injuring his 5-year-old son in drunken driving crash on Ind. 46 at the west edge of Bloomington.
Hall faces eight felonies for allegedly causing death and serious injuries by driving under the influence of alcohol and a controlled substance. She also is charged with reckless homicide, battery against a police officer and resisting arrest.
Monroe Circuit Judge Mary Ellen Diekhoff has denied requests to reduce Hall’s $100,000 bond and her request to be released on home detention. Hall waived her right to a timely trial, and one scheduled for January 2023 was canceled. The next hearing in the case is Jan. 10.
Three weeks after the crash, Bloomington attorney Ken Nunn filed a lawsuit against Hall seeking medical and funeral expenses, and punitive damages on behalf of Compion’s son “in an amount sufficient to deter defendant, and others similarly situated, from engaging in such misconduct in the future.”
From August 2022: Bloomington woman charged with four felonies in fatal wreck on Ind. 46
Indianapolis man arrested after woman shot in face on North Maple Street
Tavarous Dion Roney of Indianapolis was charged in June 2022 with attempted murder and criminal recklessness after a woman was shot in the face on North Maple Street. He was jailed on $75,000 bond and posted the required 10% a few weeks after his arrest. The next hearing in the case is Jan. 10 before Monroe Circuit Judge Darcie Fawcett.
From June 2022: Police: Man arrested, shot Bloomington woman in face, chest during alleged drug deal
Crash kills woman walking dog along Airport Road
Bloomington resident Caleb Washburn was arrested when he failed dexterity tests after a June 10, 2022 fatal hit-and-run crash that killed 50-year-old Stacy Lamb as she was out walking her dog along Airport Road.
Formal charges weren’t filed until January 2023 when toxicology tests confirmed Washburn had opioids in his system at the time of the crash.
Washburn, 34, is charged with driving while intoxicated resulting in death and two counts of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of a controlled substance. He posted bond when the charges were filed.
After multiple continuances in the case throughout 2023, a pretrial conference is scheduled in Judge Darcie Fawcett's court on Feb. 13. Court records show Washburn was to be interviewed in December by a probation officer for what’s called a “pre-plea” presentence report, often done when a defendant intends to enter a guilty plea.
Washburn's arrest: Man charged with driving under influence of drugs in crash that killed woman walking dogs
Guilty plea, sentencing in downtown shooting on Little 500 weekend
Michael V. Carson Jr. of Bloomington pleaded guilty in June 2023 to charges related to a shooting in downtown Bloomington over Little 500 weekend in 2022.
Carson initially was charged with attempted murder and carrying a handgun without a license after a 26-year-old man was shot in downtown Bloomington. Last March, an additional charge, criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, was added. Under terms of a plea agreement, Carson then pleaded guilty to the new felony and a misdemeanor charge of carrying a handgun without a license. The prosecutor's office dismissed the attempted murder charge.
Judge Fawcett sentenced Carson to 730 days in jail with all but 10 suspended. He was put on probation for 710 days. If he completes probation without any violations, Fawcett agreed to consider reducing the felony to a misdemeanor.
More: Police arrest and charge suspect in downtown shooting on Little 500 weekend
Kalao Nightclub shooting case stalled throughout 2023
Keiantrea Washington is accused of shooting three people during a night of Little 500 partying at Kalao Nightclub, which has since closed.
The then-27-year-old Bloomington man was arrested 10 days after allegedly firing a handgun inside the crowded downtown bar around 1 a.m. on April 23, 2022.
He faces charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery and criminal recklessness, and bonded out of jail after posting $10,500 in cash soon after his arrest.
The case stalled in Diekhoff’s court in 2022, when the judge approved defense attorney Sam Shapiro’s requests to postpone all six pretrial hearings on the court docket from July through December.
A hearing set for January 2023 was continued as well. The judge told Shapiro that his client was to appear at a February hearing, and he did.
A May 2023 hearing was continued, and Washington appeared at hearings in June and August. A November hearing was continued and is now set for Feb. 29, court records indicate.
Two victims injured in the shooting have filed civil lawsuits against Washington seeking compensation for their injuries.
After 2022 Little 500: Bloomington shootings latest example of increased gun violence; police chief concerned
Who killed Desta Clark? No arrests in 2022 murder case
There’s no news to report from the May 2022 murder of Bloomington resident Desta Clark, shot to death by masked men who chased him from an eastside apartment. Police say intruders broke through an apartment door on Clarizz Boulevard at 6 a.m. May 25, chased 20-year-old Clark out and shot him multiple times as he fled. The Bloomington Police Department’s investigation continues.
Waiting for an answer: After masked men murdered her son, a Bloomington mother waits for justice
Former IU football player accused of robbery
Former IU football player Da’Shaun Brown bonded out of jail in April 2022 on the same day he was charged with four felonies: armed robbery, robbery with injury and two counts of kidnapping. The accusations were made by a man who said he encountered Brown through the Grindr dating app.
The incident happened in the early morning hours of April 6. The victim told police Brown used a large knife as a weapon, threatening to kill the the 30-year-old man if he didn't give him money.
Brown then allegedly drove the man to a bank ATM and forced him to withdraw cash.
Court records show that a Jan. 30 hearing has been set during which Judge Diekhoff will consider a plea agreement that requires Brown to plead guilty.
More: Former IU football player charged with kidnapping, robbing man he met on Grindr
Shooter sentenced to 6 years for incident outside Tri-North Middle School
Hachime Ag Abou was sentenced in September to six years in prison in connection with an April shooting incident in the Tri-North Middle School parking lot. Abou, who was 18 when the shooting happened, pleaded guilty to criminal recklessness and carrying a handgun without a license. Through a plea agreement, charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery and unlawful possession of a handgun by a serious violent felon were dismissed.
Abou was sent to Branchville Correctional Facility to serve his sentence. With good-time credit, he is expected to be released in July 2028.
Tri-North parking lot: Teens arrested in gun violence cases on Bloomington's northwest side
Grandson charged with arson competent to stand trial
It’s been nearly two years since Justin Lee Hollingsworth was arrested and accused of beating his grandfather and leaving him to die in a burning house. He’s being held at the Monroe County Jail on $100,000 bond on charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery and arson.
In July 2022, Hollingsworth’s lawyer filed notice of an insanity defense in the case but mental health experts who examined Hollingsworth determined he was competent. Two previously scheduled trials in the case, in August 2022 and July 2023, were canceled. The new trial date is Feb. 19 in Judge Diekhoff’s court.
Hollingsworth arrest: Man calls 911 to report his grandson beat him, left him inside burning house
Lawyers seek insanity defense for man accused of killing Caleb Cowden
Gary W. O'Bryant’s lawyer has filed an insanity defense on his behalf in a case where O’Bryant is accused of killing a man in February 2022 and leaving his body wrapped up and tied in a blanket inside his Bloomington apartment for days.
Police with a search warrant went to O'Bryant's apartment the morning of Feb. 8, broke down a locked bedroom door and discovered the body of 29-year-old Caleb James Cowden, who had been shot once in the forehead.
O’Bryant is charged with murder, obstruction of justice, dealing methamphetamine, maintaining a common nuisance and failure to notify authorities of a dead body. Trials scheduled for August 2022 and February 2023 were canceled; the new trial date is May 6 in Judge Christine Talley Haseman’s court. O’Bryant has a pre-trial hearing scheduled for Jan. 31.
O'Bryant case: Witnesses led police to dead body, suspect in Bloomington shooting
Rape suspect not yet found
In January 2022, DNA testing identified TreShawn David Bowling as the suspect in a 2019 sexual assault in Bloomington. Four rape charges, and charges of kidnapping and strangulation, were filed against him.
A judge issued a warrant for Bowling’s arrest; he continues to elude authorities.
Wanted: DNA from Indy rape case identifies suspect in 2019 Bloomington sexual assault
Man accused of campus rape pleads guilty to criminal confinement
Samuel H. Elliott, a Huntington man accused of raping an IU student in a dorm room in January 2022, pleaded guilty in June 2023 to felony criminal confinement. Through a plea agreement, four counts of rape were dismissed. Judge Haughton sentenced Elliott to 545 days in jail with 543 days suspended. He paid $185 in court costs and fees.
Initial charges: Man accused of raping intoxicated Indiana University student at dorm
Contact H-T reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Court updates on Madelyn Howard, Keiantrea Washington
