Behrman suspect charged in other case

While a man named a suspect in the Jill Behrman case was charged with the attempted abduction of an Ellettsville woman, residents of Lampkins Ridge Road received a letter pertaining to the possibility of a reckless driver seen the same day of the cyclist's disappearance.\nUriah J. Clouse was charged Friday in Monroe Circuit Court with attempted criminal confinement, a felony and a misdemeanor battery count.\nProsecutors allege Clouse tried to abduct an Ellettsville woman who was 18 at the time of the June 13, 2000, attempt. The woman reported a man tried to pull her into his truck in an alley behind an Ellettsville convenience store. The woman managed to break free and run away, escaping with bruises and scrapes.\nShe contacted police Thursday after seeing a newspaper photo of Clouse in The Herald-Times, prosecutor Carl Salzmann said.\nOn Friday, she positively identified Clouse as the man who tried to abduct her, Salzmann said.\nClouse's attorney, Stuart Bench, could not be reached for comment Saturday. A phone message was left at his office. There is no home listing for Bench in Brown or Monroe counties.\nBond in Monroe County was set at $45,000. \nClouse remained jailed Sunday afternoon and could be released if he pays $12,000, Randy Parker, Brown County jailer said.\nBench has said his client has no knowledge of the Behrman case.\nResidents of Lampkins Ridge Road received a letter about a reckless driver on the road the day IU sophomore Jill Behrman disappeared while riding her bicycle May 31, 2000. Behrman, 19, at the time, was last seen riding alone just south of the city. Her bicycle was found along a road 10 miles northwest of Bloomington. \nLampkins Ridge Road resident Arthur Campbell said he received the letter Saturday. The letter itself did not specify what agency sent it, but the envelope had a return address of the U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation, he said. \nIt states that there was a vehicle driven recklessly, and that there is a possibility that a resident of Lampkins Ridge Road or someone in the area might have been forced off the road or swerved to avoid the vehicle, Campbell said. He did not live in the area at the time of Behrman's disappearance.\nLisa Huffman, also a Lampkins Ridge Road resident, said she either has not received the letter or has misplaced it, but that "weird people" often travel the road.\n"I didn't really dream that the person would have driven down our road," she said. "There have been times when it's been a little creepy sometimes -- when a couple of hours go by (and) there's no cars. If you're going to do something nasty, it might be a good road to do it on."\nClouse, 26, is jailed in neighboring Brown County on charges unrelated to both Jill Behrman's disappearance and the attempted abduction.\nClouse had been serving time for invasion of privacy after violating a no-contact order with a former girlfriend, but that sentence ended Saturday. He has a pending charge of battery stemming from an alleged assault on a fellow jail inmate.\nIn Brown County Friday, a judge increased Clouse's bond from $3,500 to $25,000. Prosecutors had sought a bond of $250,000, citing the ongoing investigation in Behrman's disappearance.\nProsecutors this week asked Brown Circuit Court Judge Judith Stewart to raise Clouse's bond to $250,000, but she ruled Friday that the bond would be raised to $25,000, saying she cannot put an unreasonably high bond on someone just because they were suspected in another investigation.\nClouse has not been charged for Behrman's disappearance, but investigators have named him as one of several suspects, saying his alibi from the day of Behrman's disappearance does not check out.\nThe father of missing IU student Jill Behrman said Friday he was more confident than ever that new leads in the case would unravel the mystery behind his daughter's disappearance nearly two years ago.\n"Things are happening right now, even today, and we know that this will all hopefully help us find Jill and bring her home," Eric Behrman said.\nClouse is the first suspect to be named. Investigators say Clouse has a long and violent criminal record.\nEric Behrman said it is too soon to point fingers at the one named suspect because detectives were continuing to investigate a number of different people.\nHe said he and his wife, Marilyn Behrman, still light a candle on their front porch each night in their daughter's honor. He also said they still wonder each time the phone rings whether it might be the call they have been waiting for more than 22 months to receive.\n"Someone out there knows what happened to Jill," Behrman said. "And we need them to come forward with this information and help us bring our daughter home."\nRegion editor Kara Salge contributed to this story.