Muncie teen charged with trying to kill deputies now accused of assaulting jail officer
MUNCIE, Ind. — A Muncie man already charged with trying to kill three Delaware County sheriff's deputies now stands accused of attacking a corrections officer in the county jail.
Tarron Hayden Conwell, 19, is preliminarily charged with battery resulting in injury to a corrections officer, a Level 6 felony carrying up to 30 months in prison.
While in the jail on July 17, Conwell allegedly "smacked (a corrections officer) across the face, striking the right side of his face (and) knocking (the victim's) glasses off," according to an affidavit.
An investigator wrote that Conwell was "upset about a lunch tray that he was served and wanted another food tray instead."
In an ensuing struggle, the Muncie teen reportedly kicked and tried to scratch the officers who were trying to subdue him.
When the incident took place, the corrections officer was reportedly trying to help Conwell — recovering from injuries suffered when he was struck by a police car on June 23 — to a restroom.
According to court documents, Conwell — at the time the target of an arrest warrant — was being pursued by the deputies on June 23 when he fired a handgun at them. He was then struck by one of his would-be victim's police cars, according to an affidavit.
Last week, Conwell was charged in Delaware Circuit Court 1 with three counts of attempted murder, a Level 1 felony carrying up to 40 years in prison.
He was also charged with resisting law enforcement and unlawful carrying of a handgun. Conwell continued to be held in the jail on Tuesday under a bond of $342,500.
According to court records, the teenager faces 10 charges, all but one of them misdemeanors, in seven cases pending in Madison County courts — bribery, false identify statement, possession of paraphernalia, five counts of driving without ever receiving a license and two counts of possession of marijuana.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie teen charged with attempted murder accused of battering jailer
