Behrman suspect set for release

Uriah Clouse, one of three main suspects in the Jill Behrman case, will be a free man Thursday morning.\nClouse was being held in Monroe County jail for charges stemming from a 2001 incident where he was accused of raping a Bloomington woman he knew. Clouse agreed to a plea bargain reducing his charge from felony rape if he pled guilty to misdemeanor battery. On March 26, a judge sentenced Clouse to one year in jail with a credit of time already served, which allowed the judge to schedule his release date for April 10. \nBehrman, an IU student, disappeared May 31, 2000, while riding her bike south of Bloomington. Investigators believed someone driving a truck under the influence of drugs or alcohol accidentally struck Behrman, then drove to Salt Creek to dump the body. Following information from another suspect in the case, investigators drained a 1.4 mile stretch of Salt Creek in September 2002 in hopes of finding Behrman's body. It wasn't until March 9 this year that investigators found Behrman's remains 22 miles north of Bloomington in Paragon, Ind.\nThe discovery threw many of the investigation's previous theories out and placed all suspects "back on the table," said Monroe County Prosecutor Carl Salzmann in a March 13 press conference.\nIndiana State Police spokesman Sergeant Dave Bursten said investigators have interviewed several people since March 9, but will not comment on the number or extent of the interviews.\n"We are continuing to advance the investigation, not saying who or the content," Bursten said. "Since this is an on-going investigation, it could compromise our ability to continue the investigation if we released such information."\nClouse has maintained his innocence each time investigators have interviewed him. Clouse's battery charge is the latest in a lengthy list of run-ins with the law.\nSince October 1993, Clouse's record boasts numerous charges, according to records obtained from the Monroe County Courthouse. His record includes a conviction of felony battery, a conviction of a rape charge, several dismissed public intoxication charges and invasion of privacy after violating a no-contact order with a former girlfriend.\nHe has pled guilty on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, operating a vehicle over the legal .10 Blood Alcohol Content level, resisting law enforcement and failing to carry insurance. \nBrown County Prosecutor Jim Oliver told the IDS for a April 2002 article that, "The (FBI) agent told me that his sources said Clouse was threatening to kill people involved in the Behrman investigation." At the time, Oliver had asked a Brown County Court judge to raise the amount of Clouse's bond in order to keep him in jail based on FBI evidence and Clouse's criminal history.\nThe most recent charge against Clouse occurred in October 2002 when a Brown County judge sentenced him to jail time for disorderly conduct and a battery charge against a fellow Brown County Jail inmate.