The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1065926
The Press-Dispatch Local Wednesday, December 26, 2018 A- 7 812-354-8404 292 W. Main St. • Petersburg ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS Hours: Tuesday, 8am - 5pm ursday, 8am - 5pm WALK-INS WELCOME Most insurances accepted. Adults & Children PCHS National Honor Society volunteers as bell ringers Pike Central High School seniors Maggie McDonald and Emma Bush vol- unteer as bell ringers at Dollar General in Petersburg on Saturday, Decem- ber 22 to help complete their community service hours for National Honor Society. They said they get to choose where they volunteer, and after ringing bells last year and enjoying the experience, they decided to sign up again. Kenzie Rudolph photo street to her mother, then they would hook up. Instead, after Branum left and went across the street, police swarmed them. Austin said he took five of the 10 $20 bills she gave him and put five of them in his pocket, then gave McMick- el the other five for his part of the meth. Petersburg Police Cpl. Jar- ed Simmons told the court he found five $20 bills in Mc- Mickel's hand and McMick- el claimed it was his money, until he was told it was mon- ey from a "controlled buy" with matching serial num- bers. McMickel's attorney, Tim Demotte, questioned Austin about his testimony. Austin pleaded guilty to dealing meth from this arrest. De- motte brought out that Aus- tin, in a pre-sentence report in his case, had lied about his involvement. Austin ad- mitted he lied in that report to minimize his involvement because he was told the judge deciding his sentenc- ing might view him more fa- vorable if his involvement was less. He said he no lon- ger had any reason to lie be- cause he had already been sentenced from a plea agree- ment. Austin received a six- year sentence. He is awaiting trial in Dubois County on a mur- der charge. He is accused of beating a man to death. The jury did not hear any ev- idence about Austin's pend- ing trial. Cpl. Simmons also faced cross-examination from De- motte about his testimony. McMickel's trial was com- plicated because Branum, the confidential informant, died earlier this year while giving birth. So the key wit- ness was not able to testify. Demotte repeatedly chid- ed the state's evidence, pointing out a recording during the drug transaction couldn't be produced. De- motte also said there were no fingerprints on the plas- tic bag used for the meth. He also said no test was done on McMickel's hands to see if he had handled meth. Simmons said they were using the recorder for the first time. He said he pushed the record button once and he thought he had turned it on, but later learned it didn't turn on because he was sup- posed to press the button twice. Prosecutor Darin Mc- Donald said these are not like consumer type record- ers. "They don't have a lit- tle red light to show they are on. They are made to look like something else and not be noticed." Simmons also said some- times they don't find finger- prints and he said he did not know of a test to find meth on someone's hands. A key part of the trial was a 15 -minute taped interview with McMickle following his arrest. In his closing, McDonald argued McMickle told po- lice three different reasons he had the $100 in his pock- et. "First, he said he got the money at work, then when questioned about the hand- to-hand exchange, he (Mc- Mickle) said 'you are right it,' and at the end of the in- terview, he said "maybe he (McMickel) loaned it to Aus- tin and Austin was paying him back." McDonald asked the ju- ry, "What is the reasonable reason for him to have five $20 bills in his hand and he is lying about it. The only reasonable possibility is he is trying to conceal his part in the drug deal," said Mc- Donald. In the first part of the in- terview, McMickel claims he was on his cellphone dur- ing the drug transaction and didn't know what Austin was doing. Demotte argued McMick- le had just come along to hook up with a woman from Petersburg that Branum had arranged. He said McMickle didn't know about the meth deal. He also claimed Aus- tin had borrowed money from McMickle and that is why Austin was giving him the $100. He said McMickle was just caught off guard be- cause he was talking on his cellphone when Austin handed him the $100 in $20 bills. Then out of nowhere, seconds after Austin hand- ed him the money, the po- lice descended on them. So he was just reacting on the fly with his first two reasons and then finally toward the end of the tape, he gave the real reason for getting the money. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Janu- ary 7, 2019, in Pike Circuit Court. The sentence range on a Level 4 felony is two to 12 years, with an advisory sentence of six years. GUILTY Continued from page 1 MARRIAGE LICENSE Charles Kenneth McCandless, 63, of 903 N. First St. Winslow, son of Kenneth Delmas and Dolly Virginia McCandless, to Stacy Marie Worthington, 42, of 903 N. First St., Winslow, daughter of Stephen and Ellen Wininger King. Scouts spreading Peace Light Petersburg Cub Scout Tyler Mason and Boy Scout Damien O'Brien accept a Peace Light. The Boy Scouts of America are participating in the Peace Light project. They are working to spread a Peace Light Flame that originated in Bethlehem. The Peace Light Flame arrived in the United States on Sat- urday, December 1. The first transfer ceremony took place in the Our Lady of the Skies Chapel, at JFK International Airport in New York. It has already made its way to Petersburg. Any church that would like to have a Peace Light Flame transfer ceremony can call the Scouts and they will arrange a ceremony. Their goal is to spread the Peace Light Flame across North America. Bridge #91 gets new deck County Bridge 91, located on CR 525 S, at the Pike-Gibson County line, received a new deck last week. The bridge is just north of Highway 61, about a quarter of a mile spanning the South Fork of the Patoka River. Pike County Highway Superintendent Roger Ham said the project cost about $40,000. It is completed, except for the new guardrail to be installed. Ham said he thought it would be opened by the beginning of 2019.