Four people who were facing criminal charges in local courts have pled guilty and been sentenced on charges including fleeing law enforcement, possessing illegal drugs and counterfeiting.
The Daily Journal has previously reported on these cases and is sharing this update to give resolution to our earlier reporting on crime in the community.
3 years for high-speed chase
Richard D. Corbin, 54, of Columbus was sentenced in October on charges stemming from a high-speed chase through Edinburgh.
Corbin pled guilty in August before Johnson Circuit Court Judge Andy Roesener to charges of operating a vehicle with a lifetime suspension, leaving the scene of an accident and two counts of resisting law enforcement.
For the four charges, he was sentenced in October to six years and 180 days in total, however, the actual time to be served is three years, as the sentences run concurrently. Corbin also received jail credit for 34 days of time served, online court records show.
Corbin was arrested in February 2023 after leading sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed chase through Edinburgh, crashing into a fence and being apprehended by a K-9.
Johnson County Sheriff’s Office deputies were on patrol in the median of Interstate 65 near the Franklin exit when they observed a small black pick-up truck going southbound with no plate displayed. Deputies then began to follow the vehicle, which was driven by Corbin, and caught up to it near Edinburgh, according to a sheriff’s office report.
As deputies were preparing to do a traffic stop, the truck abruptly went from the right lane to the left lane and back without signaling. They then tried to pull Corbin over on the Edinburgh exit ramp, but he sped up and drove on the shoulder to bypass another car, according to the report.
Deputies pursued Corbin as he reached speeds of more than 80 mph. He ignored stop signs at Main Cross Street, Thompson Street and Campbell Street, according to the report.
Eventually, the truck went through the intersection of Campbell Street and Kyle Street, going over a curb and into a fence. Corbin then exited the vehicle and fled by foot, the report says.
Deputies brought the foot chase to an end after deploying a K-9 to apprehend Corbin, according to the report.
17.5 years for meth dealing
Anne M. Haines, 47, of Bloomington was sentenced in September 2023 for an August 2021 charge of methamphetamine dealing as a Level 2 felony.
Haines was sentenced by Superior Court 2 Judge Peter Nugent to up to 17.5 years incarceration, with eligibility for a sentence modification upon three years of incarceration and successful completion of the Recovery While Incarcerated program. She has 27 days of jail credit, online court records show.
During the incident that led to her arrest officers noticed Haines’s car parked at a gas station near the intersection of State Road 135 and State Road 252 in Trafalgar, according to a Johnson County Sheriff’s Office report.
Deputies initiated a traffic stop after Haines committed two traffic violations after leaving the gas station, according to the report.
During a search of the vehicle, officers found a bag with a safe inside in the back passenger floorboard. They used a key on Haines’s car keys to open it. Inside, officers found about 115 grams of a crystal substance that field tested positive for meth, according to the report.
She told officers she did not typically sell meth, but needed the money to relocate to Florida. She said she used a stimulus check to buy $1,300 worth of meth, which she intended to sell to four customers, according to the report.
20 years for meth dealing
Joshua D. Mercer, 40, of Martinsville will serve up to 20 years for methamphetamine dealing and various other criminal charges stemming from an April 2021 incident.
Mercer pled guilty before Circuit Court Judge Andy Roesener in September 2023 to dealing meth, resisting law enforcement and operating while intoxicated, with several other charges dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
For the three charges, he was sentenced to a total of 22 years and 60 days, with two years and 60 days to be served concurrently with the 20-year dealing sentence. He received 205 days for jail time served, online court records show.
Mercer will be eligible for a sentence modification after 10 years of incarceration and successful completion of the Recovery While Incarcerated program, online court records show.
He is also ordered to pay court costs plus $5,959 in restitution to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office for damage to country property during a police chase leading to his arrest.
Leading up to his arrest, a sheriff’s deputy observed a vehicle illegally navigate the roundabout at Fairview and Morgantown roads, then run the stop sign at Bluff Road, according to the news release.
The deputy turned on his emergency lights to stop the vehicle, driven by Mercer, but he fled westbound on Fairview Road at high speeds. Mercer continued west past State Road 37 onto the dead-end portion of Fairview Road, which turned into a gravel lane and then a field, the news release said.
The chase ended in a creek bed. Both Mercer’s and the deputy’s vehicles sustained some water damage, according to the news release.
Deputies searched Mercer’s vehicle and found 470 grams of methamphetamine, 43 grams of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia. He appeared to be under the influence of narcotics, the news release said.
1 year for counterfeiting
Bri Anna D. Williams, 30, of Whiteland will serve one year for counterfeiting.
Williams pled guilty to Level 6 felony counterfeiting and misdemeanor theft via plea agreement filed with Hendricks County Superior Court 5 in August 2023. A charge of resisting law enforcement was dismissed, online court records show.
She was sentenced to 365 days, with 16 days jail credit and 349 days suspended to probation, court records show.
Williams was arrested in May 2023 after an ISP trooper found an unoccupied stolen vehicle in the parking lot of a business located on the 2300 block of East Main Street in Plainfield. After further investigation with assistance from the Plainfield Police, Williams and a man were located, according to an Indiana State Police news release.
Williams was in possession of nine social security cards, 14 ID cards belonging to various people and 46 checks/direct deposit forms. She was also in possession of counterfeit money, tax documents belonging to various people, mail addressed to several different people and notebooks containing bank account information and PIN numbers, according to ISP.
