Two men who were facing criminal charges in Johnson County courts have pled guilty and been sentenced for crimes including sexual misconduct with a minor and robbery.
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.
Misconduct with minor
A Henry County man will serve two years in custody after pleading guilty to having an inappropriate relationship with a Bargersville minor for eight months.
Braeden Gage Blanchard, 21, of Lewisville, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual misconduct with a minor, a Level 5 felony, before Johnson County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Roesener on Feb. 9. He was given a five-year sentence with a 72-day jail credit.
One year will be served in prison, another year will be on home detention and GPS monitoring, and the remainder of the sentence will be suspended to probation, according to court documents.
As part of the agreement, he was declared a sex offender and ordered to abide by sex offender conditions. Prosecutors asked for two years of Blanchard’s sentence to be executed, which is what he received through the prison and home detention periods, Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner said.
“We are pleased to the judge gave him a year of prison time and a year of home detention,” Hamner said.
Bargersville police were called to the child’s home in August 2021 after a relative reported sexual misconduct between the victim and Blanchard. The woman told police the victim and Blanchard had been dating, and they were under the impression he was 16. They later found information indicating he was older than 18, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Johnson County Circuit Court.
The relative told police they had no reason to doubt Blanchard was 16, But when the relative ran Blanchard’s name through online court records and discovered a criminal case involving him in Hancock County, that led them to believe he was at least 18 while the victim was 14, according to court documents.
Gas station robbery
An Auburn man arrested in connection with a 2021 gas station robbery in Whiteland will serve two years in prison.
Coltin Drew Herzog, 20, pleaded guilty to aiding, inducing or causing robbery, a Level 5 felony, before Circuit Court Judge Andrew Roesener on Feb. 23. He was sentenced the same day to six years, four years of which will be served in prison and two years will be suspended to probation. He also received a jail credit of 698.5 days, including good time credit, meaning he will serve two more years in prison for this case, court documents show.
Herzog’s sentence is concurrent to a sentence issued in a case from DeKalb County, which involved a burglary, according to online court records.
Whiteland police arrested Herzog, along with two juveniles, following a robbery at a gas station located at the intersection of U.S. 31 and Whiteland Road in May 2021.
Police initially suspected two people were involved with the armed robbery. Both of the original suspects drew guns and demanded money from the clerk. The gas station owner called his boss, who then called 9-1-1, police said at the time.
Another suspect was arrested after the investigation revealed there was a getaway driver.
