Three men who were facing criminal charges in Johnson County courts have pled guilty and been sentenced on charges including sexual misconduct with a minor, marijuana possession and a pointing firearm.
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.
Pointing gun, auto theft
An Indianapolis man will serve about 1.5 years on probation in connection to a reported kidnapping last year.
Carmelo M. Bertram, 19, pled guilty to pointing a firearm and auto theft, both Level 6 felonies, and conversion, a Class A misdemeanor, before Superior Court 3 Judge Douglas Cummins on June 15. He was sentenced the same day to 545 days, of which 523 will be served on active probation. Bertram received a 16 day jail credit, according to online court records.
As part of a plea agreement, felony charges of kidnapping, criminal confinement and pointing a firearm at another person were dismissed. He was also ordered to do 48 hours of community service work, online court records show.
Bertram was arrested after police responded to a possible shooting at Polo Run Apartments, 800 Kings Mill Road, on July 17, 2022. When police arrived at Polo Run, they were unable to locate anything or anyone. But, a short time later, police received a phone call from a man that said he had fired shots into a door following an altercation he had with Bertram and asked police to come to his apartment, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Johnson County Superior Court 3.
The man was making sure it was safe for his friend to go inside the apartment, and when he left the apartment, he saw Bertram walking up the stairs with a handgun. Bertram then pointed it at the man, he told police.
The man ran back inside the apartment, locked the door, and told police he heard Bertram attempting to enter the apartment. In fear of Bertram getting inside, the man grabbed his gun and fired four rounds into the door, he told police.
The man told police that his friend had texted him asking for help and notified him that his truck was stolen. When the friend went up to the apartment, the door was open so she asked the first victim to check the apartment while she waited in his truck, the affidavit says.
Bertram allegedly walked up to the window of the truck, opened the door and pulled her out. The two argued, then Bertram grabbed a handgun that was in the truck and ran up the stairs toward the apartment, according to the affidavit.
She later heard gunshots and saw Bertram run back downstairs, get into the truck, point the gun at her and drive away with her still in the vehicle, according to the affidavit.
She was later dropped back at Polo Run after an officer spoke with Bertram over the phone, the affidavit says.
Bertram said he had been walking back from the Greenwood Park Mall when he saw the woman in a parking lot. He later told officers that he was going upstairs to retrieve his belongings from inside the apartment when he saw the man in the hallway, according to the affidavit.
Bertram said the man had waved a gun at him, so he went down to the truck to grab the man’s other weapon. As he was heading back upstairs, he heard gunshots. He then told police he was in fear for his life and admitted that he stole the man’s truck, the affidavit says.
Sexual misconduct
A Franklin man will serve three years on home detention and probation for inappropriately touching a minor.
James Wallace Lowe Jr., 29, pled guilty to sexual misconduct with a minor, a Level 5 felony, before Johnson County Superior Court 3 Judge Douglas Cummins on June 22. Lowe was sentenced the same day to three years, with a one-day jail credit. Two years of his sentence will be on home detention, with another year suspended to probation, according to online court records.
As part of a plea agreement, an additional count of sexual misconduct with a minor as a Level 4 felony and two counts of strangulation as a Level 6 felony were dismissed. Lowe was also ordered to participate in sex offender evaluation and treatment as recommended, online court records say.
Franklin police first became aware of Lowe in June 2021, when a child reported what had happened to her. She said he had touched her inappropriately several times, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Marijuana possession
In another case, a Greenwood man pled guilty to possession of marijuana after having been arrested during a child solicitation sting last year.
James W. Thomas II, 35, pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor, before Superior Court 3 Judge Douglas Cummins on June 22. As part of a plea agreement, a Level 4 felony charge of child solicitation was dismissed.
Thomas was sentenced on June 22 to two days in jail, with a one-day jail credit, according to online court records.
During a three-day child solicitation round-up, Thomas was one of 11 men arrested as part of the investigation. JCSO deputies and Franklin police officers set up fake profiles posing as a 14-year-old on websites used to find sexual partners, including Reddit and Adam for Adam. The profile drew interest from men from all over Indiana, according to a press release on the operation.
