Two Indianapolis men who were facing criminal charges in Johnson County courts have pled guilty and been sentenced on charges including theft and possession of methamphetamine, respectively.
The Daily Journal has previously reported about these cases, and is sharing this update to give resolution to our earlier reporting on crime in the community.
Man sentenced for catalytic converter thefts
An Indianapolis man will serve less than a year in connection with a string of catalytic converter thefts spanning multiple counties.
Jonathan Lee Botts, 38, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft in two separate cases before Johnson County Superior Court 3 Judge Douglas Cummins on Jan. 12. As part of a plea agreement, several charges and cases were dismissed: possession of an altered firearm as a Level 5 felony, possession of methamphetamine as a Level 6 felony, criminal mischief as a misdemeanor and two counts of driving with a suspended license, according to online court records.
He was sentenced on Jan. 12 to 324 days in jail and received a jail credit of 162 days. He will ultimately serve 203 days in jail, court records show.
In July 2020, area law enforcement learned of a local group of people — including Botts — who were cutting catalytic converters off of vehicles or assisting in the thefts and selling them for cash. Botts was the primary suspect and later admitted to his participation, saying he used the money to pay bills and support his meth habit, according to a Johnson County Sheriff’s Office news release.
Over the next three months, Botts was stopped twice by police. During this time Botts admitted he planned to cut off catalytic converters at a Franklin business, and detectives watched footage that showed him having multiple catalytic converters and saws, the news release said.
After a catalytic converter was stolen from a Greenwood gas station in early September 2020, Botts was captured on surveillance video using multiple saws to cut off and steal the catalytic converter from a Ford F-250, while an accomplice was on “look-out,” according to the news release.
At that time, the sheriff’s office distributed a flier to area law enforcement agencies and social media, and a tip later identified Botts as the suspect.
A search warrant was served a few weeks later at a Franklin trailer park, and Botts was arrested on an outstanding warrant. On Botts, deputies found a 1/2 gram of meth and a hypodermic needle, according to the sheriff’s office news release. They also found a pistol with an obliterated serial number in the master bedroom and numerous saws.
Deputies arrested Botts and took him to the sheriff’s office, where he told detectives about his catalytic converter theft scheme in detail, according to the news release.
12 years for high-speed chase
An Indianapolis man will serve 12 years in prison after leading Greenwood police on a nearly 30-minute high-speed chase.
Ronald Charles, 36, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of possession of meth, a Level 4 felony; carrying a handgun with a prior felony conviction, a Level 5 felony; resisting law enforcement, a Level 6 felony; and possession of cocaine, a Level 6 Felony, by Circuit Court Judge Andrew Roesener on Jan. 23. He received a 136-day jail credit, and his sentence will be served consecutively to charges out of Marion County, according to online court records.
As part of the plea agreement, misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and reckless driving were dismissed, online court records say.
Charles was arrested last March after Greenwood police observed an SUV with a license plate that came back belonging to another vehicle.
He fled into the southside, throwing multiple plastic baggies with drugs and money out the driver’s side window. He eventually tossed out a handgun, gun magazine and ammo as well, the report shows.
The chase lasted for 30 minutes, with Charles’s hitting speeds of 100 miles-per-hour at times. He ran red lights, and struck a vehicle on a tow truck at one point, the report shows.
Eventually, his car broke down on Washington Street in Indianapolis. Police later searched the vehicle and found several controlled substances inside a small metal screw cap container, multiple 9 mm rounds and a gun holster, according to the report.
Charles told police he ran because he didn’t have a license and had just got done smoking meth before officers attempted to pull him over, the report shows.
