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(09/13/06 4:31am)
John Corvino and Glenn Stanton don't agree on a lot.\nBut that's exactly what their friendship is based on. Stanton is a consultant for the Bush administration on fatherhood issues and a public policy analyst at Focus on the Family, a Christian organization, and Corvino is a professor at Wayne State University and a writer for the Independent Gay Forum. They spend their time traveling together with the purpose of holding civilized, educated debates to give students and audience members perspective on the issue of gay marriage. The two debated the issue in a program called "Gay Marriage: A Civil Debate" for about two hours Tuesday night in the Indiana Memorial Union.\n"People are sometimes surprised when I call Glenn my friend," said Corvino, who presented the case in support of same sex marriage. "We differ sharply on certain issues, but one thing that we share is a commitment to reasoned, productive dialogue."\nThe two presented their cases before a question-and-answer session. Corvino spent a large portion of his time emphasizing that the legalization of gay marriage would not affect heterosexual relationships.\n"It's not as if there is a limited number of marriage licenses so that once they're gone, they're gone, and there's not enough left for the straight people," he said.\nStanton, who argued against same-sex marriage, said legalization of same-sex marriages would not be in the best interest of children. He stressed his belief that children should be the main consideration in legislation on the subject.\n"Same-sex marriage is a case made by adults for adults," Stanton said. "It is not a case made for children."\nBoth speakers cited different studies about the effects of parental relationships on children. Stanton said the studies he used reveal that an environment in which both biological parents raise the child together is most suitable. \nStanton reminded audience members that a child raised in a home with homosexual parents could not possibly be living with both biological parents. Corvino said his studies showed that children in either situation had the same advantages.\nCorvino pointed out that current laws do not require heterosexual couples to prove that they would make good parents before granting them a marriage license. In fact, Corvino said, states regularly grant licenses to couples who they know will be bad parents.\n"What kind of society will recognize the 14-hour Vegas thing of Britney Spears but not recognize the relationship of John and Brian?" he asked.\nBut the debate itself is not about families or children, Stanton said -- it's an issue of humanity. He said all through history, every society has recognized marriage, whether monogamous or polygamous, as uniting men with women. Stanton said members of society need to be cautious about trying to change those "societal norms."\n"I think that is the arrogance of modernism," he said. "I think that's chronological snobbery to think that we can just come along and change that."\nRegardless of their opinions, many audience members said they appreciated hearing both sides of the issue.\n"As a homosexual male, I thought it was interesting to hear both sides," said junior Joshua Mock. "But it did not change my view -- that homosexual marriage should be legal."\nFreshman Loren Gurman also said he enjoyed hearing both cases and commended both speakers for their skills.\n"I very much enjoyed the debate," Gurman said. "I would say anyone, regardless of what side they support, doubtlessly could have an appreciation for their wonderful skills of \ndebate"
(09/12/06 3:05am)
After responding to sounds of a car accident in Bloomington early Sunday morning, police discovered one of the vehicles involved had been hit by a bullet.\nBloomington Police Department officer Tracy Headley was in the area of 10th Street and College Avenue at about 2:45 a.m. Sunday when she heard the sound of a loud crash, said Detective Sgt. David Drake, reading from a police report. Headley determined the sound came from the area of 10th Street and Walnut Street, but when she arrived at the intersection, witnesses told her they had seen two cars crash into each other then head northbound on Walnut Avenue at high speeds.\nHeadley stopped one of the vehicles several minutes later at 17th Street and Willis Drive, according to the report. The vehicle's rear passenger tire was flat, and police later determined it had been hit with a bullet.\nThe driver, Dave W. Reed, 21, was arrested on preliminary charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident, according to the report. A Breathalyzer test determined Reed's blood alcohol content was .13 at the time.\nOfficers later discovered the other vehicle involved parked at 17th Street and Maple Street. The driver, Joshua S. Smith, 23, told police that Reed changed lanes and struck his vehicle while they were going north on Walnut Street, Drake said. Smith told officers he chased Reed and then shot his back rear passenger tire out with a .40 caliber handgun, according to the report.\nPolice believe the bullet went through the tire, the wheel well, the backseat and then through the bottom of a cooler sitting in the backseat, where the bullet was found.\nOfficers cited Smith for firing a handgun within city limits, Drake said, but are requesting he be charged by the Monroe County Prosecutor's Office with criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon.
(09/11/06 4:05am)
An Indiana State trooper shot a man, fatally wounding him, Friday night in Spencer after he threatened the officer with a knife, police said.\nAt about 8:30 p.m. Friday, Indiana State Police Trooper Ryan T. White attempted to stop a maroon 2005 Ford F150 pickup for a traffic violation on State Road 46, but the driver refused to stop, an Indiana State Police news release said. \nThe driver, Gregory R. Bird, 28, of Spencer, continued driving for about three miles before stopping, the report said.\nBird exited the vehicle with a knife and began walking toward White. The officer ordered Bird to drop the knife several times, but he continued to advance with the knife in his hand, the report said.\nWhite fired a single shot from his sidearm, which struck Bird in the chest, the report said. \nOwen County paramedics treated Bird at the scene, but he was pronounced dead at Bloomington Hospital shortly after the shooting, the report said.\nWhite is a four-year veteran of the police department, currently assigned to the General Headquarters Field Enforcement Division as a motorcycle patrolman, the report said. He was driving a fully-marked patrol car at the time.\nThe town of Spencer is located 17 miles northwest of Bloomington, in neighboring Owen County.
(09/07/06 2:32am)
A delivery worker for Domino's Pizza was robbed at gunpoint Tuesday night when he was called to deliver a pizza to a vacant house.\nDomino's Pizza, 527 N. Walnut St., received an order for pizza delivery to the 200 block of E. 2nd St., said Bloomington Police Department Detective Sgt. David Drake. When the delivery driver arrived and got out of the car, an unknown person with a silver handgun came from the back of the house and put the gun to the driver's head, demanding money. The driver gave him the money and then went back to Domino's to call the police.\nPolice went to the address the delivery driver said he was sent to, and the house was vacant, Drake said.\nA complete description of the robber was not available. Police were unable to locate the suspect, Drake said.
(08/31/06 2:55am)
Early morning gunshots fired in the area of Henderson Court Apartments prompted the Bloomington Police Department to open an investigation Wednesday.\nAfter receiving complaints of the sound of gunshots coming from the 2400 block of South Winslow Court, officers reported to Henderson Court and determined that the shots seemed to be coming mainly from one particular apartment, said Lt. Janelle Benedict, reading from a police report. Nobody answered the door, but eventually, a male subject who identified himself as the tenant's boyfriend arrived and let the officers into the apartment. Officers questioned him about the situation, the police report said, but he appeared to know nothing.\nWhen officers entered, they found Jennifer Dotson, 18, who lives in the apartment, and Micah Wallace, 25, according to the police report. Both subjects denied any knowledge of the gunshots, the police report said. Benedict said the officers checked the apartment for any injured people or dangerous materials and found a sawed-off shotgun as well as a small bag of marijuana, which was in plain sight.\nPolice brought Dotson, Wallace and Dotson's boyfriend to the station for interviews, and all three, again, said they knew nothing about the gunshots. Meanwhile, Dotson refused consent for police to search her apartment, so they obtained a telephonic search warrant, Benedict said.\nA detailed search of Dotson's apartment uncovered another small quantity of marijuana, a handgun and some used shells of the same caliber as the handgun. They also found shells for the shotgun, according to the report.\nAt about the same time, officers found that a window of Winslow One-Stop Laundromat, which is located directly behind the apartment, was shot out. All three subjects denied any knowledge of that, Benedict said.\nPolice arrested Dotson on preliminary charges of possession of a sawed-off shotgun, a class D felony; maintaining a common nuisance, a class D felony; and possession of marijuana, a class A misdemeanor. They arrested Wallace on a preliminary charge of visiting a common nuisance, a class B misdemeanor. Dotson's boyfriend was not arrested.\nPolice have not determined whether any of the subjects are associated with the window shot out of the laundromat, Benedict said.
(08/24/06 3:37am)
IU Police Department Lt. Greg Butler's job has never allowed him to complete the entire 1,100 miles of the Concerns of Police Survivors charity ride, but he always participates as much as he can.\nThis year, he rode the first five days of the 13-day fundraising event and returned to Bloomington on Sunday to help during move-in week. He planned to complete the final five days as well, but Tuesday he learned he would not be doing that. A terrible accident had occurred -- two of his friends died in the ride, which has now been postponed.\nIndiana State Police identified the victims as retired Lake County Sheriff's Department Chief Gary Martin and Indiana State Police Recruit Academy Commander Gary Dudley, who graduated from the IUPD Police Academy in the '70s, IUPD Capt. Jerry Minger said.\nThe accident occurred at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, when a truck struck the cyclists' support truck from behind, causing it to crash into the group of riders. Retired Indianapolis Police Department officer Spencer Moore was injured in the accident, as well as Rocky Bumpas, the driver of the support truck and Gary Adams, the driver of the truck that police say crashed into the support truck, the Associated Press reported. The accident occurred on State Road 63, south of Interstate 74, in Vermillion County.\nButler knew Dudley well, and they both were training directors at their academies. He also knew him through the ride itself, which he said Dudley was responsible for planning and organizing.\n"He's the one who coordinates all aspects of the ride," Butler said.\nBecause of the tragedy, the rest of the ride has been postponed until after the funerals. Butler said they do not plan to complete all of the scheduled route but do plan to ride into Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, where the ride was scheduled to finish, for a ceremony. \nThe organization raises money for surviving family members of officers killed in the line of duty, so the ceremony will involve a presentation of checks to the families, as planned. Butler said Dudley was always responsible for the ceremony and the presentation of the checks and that Dudley's wife Carolyn asked that they go through with it.\nButler said he is not sure what will happen to the ride now that its dedicated organizer is gone, but said he believes it will continue in some form. After all, Butler said, Dudley died for the cause.\n"I would expect some form of the ride to continue because the primary purpose is to raise awareness for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice," Butler said.\nDudley and Martin's bodies were transported back to their hometowns by police escort Wednesday, Indiana State Police Sgt. Joe Watts said. A preliminary inspection of both the trucks involved in the accident revealed no mechanical or equipment deficiencies.\nIndiana State Police troopers are asking anyone who might have seen the group riding south of I-74 to contact the them at (812) 299-1151 or (812) 299-1152.\n--The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(08/23/06 9:40pm)
The Indiana State Police Department identified the two officers killed in a crash during a charity bicycle ride Tuesday as Gary Martin, a retired Lake County Sheriff's Department chief and Lt. Gary Dudley, commander of the Indiana State Police Recruit Academy and a graduate of the IU Police Department Police Academy.\nDudley graduated from the academy in the 1970s, said IUPD Captain Jerry Minger.\nDudley organized the ride, which benefited the charity Concerns of Police Survivors. The group exists to help provide money to families of officers killed in the line of duty. IUPD Lt. Greg Butler, who knew Dudley and his wife, Carolyn, said Dudley helped plan the ride and always presented the checks to the families.\nThe ride, which was scheduled to last 1,100 miles and 13 days, has been stopped until after the funerals, Butler said. Although they may not complete the entire course anymore because of the accident, they plan to still ride into Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, which is where the ride was scheduled to end. Butler said they plan to do this at a date that is yet to be determined because Carolyn Dudley requested they finish.\n"We're going to finish this ride," Butler said. "We're just not going to complete the entire route"
(08/23/06 9:40pm)
A traffic accident during a charity bicycle ride killed two police officers Tuesday afternoon and injured three others.\nThe charity, Concerns of Police Survivors, exists to help rebuild the lives of families of officers killed in the line of duty. The officers were riding to raise money for the families, said Indiana State Police Lt. Scott Beamon.\nBloomington Police Department officer Monica Zahasky was with the group but was not injured, said IU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger. IUPD Lt. Greg Butler participated in the ride but returned to Bloomington Sunday, two days before the accident occurred.\nThe accident occurred on State Road 63, just south of Interstate 74 in Vermillion County at about 12:30 p.m. when a vehicle that had been hit by a semi-truck slammed into the group.\nOfficers planned to ride 1,100 miles during the scheduled 13-day ride. The event started at the Police Memorial in Indianapolis on Aug. 16 and was scheduled to end at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis next Monday.\nBeamon said the identities of those killed are being withheld, pending family notification.
(05/05/06 5:05am)
The IU Police Department has to work extra hard almost every weekend IU holds a special event, said IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger.\nOne of the few exceptions, he said, is graduation.\n"It's rather uneventful," he said. "It doesn't really present any kind of law enforcement or scheduling problem."\nDespite the influx of people arriving in Bloomington, Minger said graduation weekend usually produces fewer arrests and incidents than a normal weekend.\n"There's not excessive drinking," he said. "There's actually a calming effect on people who attend."\nDetective Sgt. David Drake, a spokesman for the Bloomington Police Department, said BPD does not treat graduation weekend any differently from other weekends. In fact, he was not even aware that graduation was this weekend.\n"To my knowledge, we don't have any extra people coming in for that," he said. "There aren't any special plans."\nDrake said the only extra headache he expects for BPD this weekend is overcrowded restaurants and a little extra traffic. He said any loud graduation parties will still be subject to the "Quiet Nights" program, a city-wide ordinance that allows police to investigate complaints of noise between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., but that this is the case every weekend.\nMinger said IUPD's only extra concern is directing traffic in and out of the area.\n"The only main function we perform is getting vehicles into the location and back out again," he said.\nMinger said although students are excited to graduate, that excitement usually does not lead to unsafe or criminal behavior.\n"I think the overall tone of this specific type of event isn't one that lends itself to the same kind of behavior as that of a football or basketball game," he said. "It's more of a solemn, sober event."\nA major factor in the safer atmosphere of graduation weekend is the presence of parents, Minger and Drake said.\n"There may be some parties, but it probably isn't much different from a normal Friday or Saturday," Drake said. "Especially if mommy and daddy are here, that should help keep things calm."\nMinger agreed, adding that graduation is an event associated with "academic tradition."\n"They wouldn't behave in quite the same way with their family as they would with their peers," he said. "It's not the type of atmosphere that you see at other types of special events. It's not the type of thing that lends itself to intoxicated people making bad decisions"
(05/01/06 4:02am)
IU police have made no arrests in what victims described as an unprovoked assault in Foster Quad by two unknown men early Friday morning.\nTwo victims reported to IU Police Department that, as they were going down the north stairwell in Foster Magee at about 4 a.m., they were attacked by two men, said IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger, reading from a police report. One of the victims reported that the suspects punched him in the face until he fell down and the suspects kicked him. The other victim reported that the suspects punched him in the back of the head.\nMinger said the victims described the assault as "unprovoked." The victims said they did not know the suspects.\nAccording to the report, the first victim's lip was swollen, and he thought his left ankle might be sprained. The report said the second victim had no visible injuries, but that he reported that his nose had bled and he had a bump on the back of his head.\nIn the report, the victims described the suspects as two white males, one of whom was wearing tight dark pants and a black T-shirt, with dark, curly highlighted hair. Minger said the suspects ran away eastbound \nbefore officers arrived.\nRape reported by IU freshman\nA female freshman reported to IUPD Thursday afternoon that she was raped in an apartment near Walnut Street the previous Saturday morning, Minger said reading from a police report.\nAccording to the report, the incident occurred between 1 and 2 a.m. Saturday, April 22, and the victim said the suspect was an acquaintance. She also reported they had been drinking alcohol. Minger said the victim had not yet decided whether or not she wanted to try to press charges.
(04/25/06 3:37am)
Bloomington Police have not yet made any arrests in connection with a shooting that occurred early Sunday morning.\nTwo officers heard five or six gunshots when they were in the area of the Seminary Square Kroger on another call, said BPD Sgt. David Drake, reading from the police report. According to the report, the officers saw two vehicles traveling southbound, stopped at different locations.\nBoth vehicles had signs of damage from gunshots, Drake said.\nOfficers seized five guns from "various individuals involved," Drake said, and all the individuals had permits for the guns. According to the report, all of the individuals said they did not know anything about the incident.\nAfter officers seized the guns and identified the individuals, they impounded the two vehicles for further forensic information.\nThis incident is the second in a week BPD responded to involving a shooting. \nBloomington police officers arrested a Bloomington resident last Sunday morning after he shot a gun in the parking lot behind Dunkirk Square, according to the report.\nIn that incident, witnesses told police that Bloomington resident Andrew R. Hoffman, 23, had been trying to start a fight with another man in a parking lot who was trying to walk away from him. They said Hoffman then pulled a gun from his waistband and waved it around, threatening the people around him. They said he fired a shot in an unknown direction.\nNo one was shot and Hoffman was arrested on preliminary charges of criminal recklessness with a firearm and pointing a firearm, both of which are class D felonies.
(04/25/06 3:31am)
This year's Little 500 weekend brought fewer arrests, \ncitations and incident reports to the IU Police Department than past years, but Bloomington Police Department Detective Sgt. David Drake said overall it was a pretty typical year for the county.\nDrake said there was a total of about 170 arrests or citations for area police departments, but he did not know exactly how many were from BPD. \n"It's about average for (the Little 500 weekends) over the last couple of years," Drake said. "The last couple of years have been kind of steady. Most of those are for alcohol \nviolations."\nAccording to an article in Monday's Indiana Daily Student, IUPD made 19 arrests and no citations over the \nweekend.
(04/24/06 8:08pm)
When he was in the first grade, Chris Carducci learned the fundamentals of singing and piano.\nTwenty years later, the experienced musician had earned his master's degree in voice performance and had performed in dozens of operas. At 28 years old, he was selected to study as an apprentice artist for the Central City Opera in Colorado this summer, covering the role of Mozart's Don Giovanni. He was hoping to perform the same role in the 2006-2007 IU Opera Theater season. Last Wednesday, Carducci auditioned for acceptance into the performer diploma program at IU's Jacobs School of Music.\n"He wanted to be the most famous opera singer that there was," said Barron Breland, one of Carducci's close friends who studied music with him.\nThe day after his audition for the performer diploma program, Carducci flew to West Lafayette for a rehearsal. The next morning, his friends and family received terrible news -- he would never have the opportunity to reach the goals he had set for himself.\n"He just wanted to be a professional musician," said Sam Spade, a music student who was friends with all five of the victims. "It was just something that was inherent in him. I could never see him doing anything else."\nThe news of the crash shocked Carducci's friends and family. Organizers canceled the West Lafayette performance and the School of Music canceled rehearsals. Mourners were left to reflect on Carducci's meaning in their lives.\n"I think he would have wanted us to remember him as just the giant character he was, both as a musician on stage and as this charismatic, hilarious friend," said Nathan Bick, a music student who lived with Carducci for two summers and described Carducci as his best friend.\nCarducci was born and raised in Monroe, Mich. His love for music was inspired by his family -- his brother is also a professional musician. \n"He was very loving to his family and friends," said Rolene West, Carducci's aunt. "He was so loving, so giving and cheerful. He loved music, and he was a great brother. He's just a great guy. He loved sports, but he loved classical music the most of anything."\nCarducci's father coached his high school football team, and Carducci was the quarterback. He loved sports, especially University of Michigan football and any Detroit teams. He was also an avid golfer.\n"He loved sports, but he loved music so much," Breland said. "That's not always the cool thing to do, to go from sports to music, but he loved it so much, and he just wanted to be a singer."\nAfter learning to play piano and to sing, Carducci picked up the trumpet in high school and performed in all the choirs. He finished his degree in music education at Bowling Green State University, but what he really wanted to do was perform.\nHe went on to receive a master of music in voice performance from IU's Jacobs School of Music.\n"He loved it there," said his brother Dave Carducci. "He had auditioned at other places and not gotten in. He said later that he was glad he didn't and went to IU."\nJan Harrington, chairman of the choral department at the School of Music, said he will never forget Carducci's voice and performance skills. He said a predominant memory of Carducci was seeing him perform a piece by Robert Schumann.\n"It was basically with piano and chorus, but there were lots of songs he sang by himself," said Harrington, who also considered himself a good friend of Carducci's. "We just sat there in amazement. I don't think I've ever heard anything more complete in its interpretation."\nAside from his music, Carducci was known for his unique sense of humor. He always referred to his roommate, Greg Brookes, as "Gregorio." Breland said Carducci had a knack for quick one-liners.\n"His timing was amazing," he said. "He could make this cricket noise with his mouth whenever somebody said something completely stupid. All of a sudden you would hear a cricket in the room."\nBrookes lived with Carducci for two years, and said one of his favorite pastimes was video games.\n"He loved PlayStation," Brookes said. "He would break his controller if he lost. I think he went through four or five controllers while we were living together."\nCarducci turned 28 last Tuesday. Every Tuesday night, he would go out with Breland and Bick for "Guys' Night Out," but the birthday had to be celebrated Monday so Carducci could be ready for his audition Wednesday.\n"We started doing 'Guys' Night Out' in the fall," Bick said. "It usually involved the Crazy Horse or The Alley Bar next door. We started doing it, then we just had to do it -- I mean, we gave it a name."\nBrookes said Carducci was very close friends with Robert Samels, one of the other victims of the crash. They went to Bowling Green together. This past Christmas, Samels' gift to Carducci was a Web site, www.chriscarducci.com. In the last few months, Carducci updated this site, providing news, photographs and a calender of events.\nIn Carducci's room in the apartment he shared with Brookes, several baseballs and footballs were strewn about to remind him of his love of sports. But on the other side of the room, a framed picture of the Metroplitan Opera hung above his bed.\n"He wanted to sing on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera," Brookes said. "That was his dream. He wanted to be a professional singer. That's what he wanted. He wanted to be the best"
(04/21/06 3:51am)
The IU Police Department has experienced a larger number of thefts from vehicles within the last couple of weeks, and IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said the warm weather is partially to blame.\n"Since the weather started getting nice last week, we've started experiencing more thefts from vehicles," Minger said. "So we've been putting extra people out on the lots and having extra patrols."\nAt about 4 a.m. Thursday, IUPD received a call from someone saying they had seen a man walking around the parking lot of Forest Quad and trying to open the doors to vehicles. An officer arrived at the lot and saw a man test several car doors to see if they were unlocked. He then successfully opened the door of a vehicle, got in, got back out and shut the door, Minger said, reading from the police report.\nAccording to the report, freshman Dustin Shafer, 19, denied ever entering any vehicles. Minger said Shafer "had a substantial amount of alcohol in his system" and was arrested on preliminary charges of illegal consumption and public intoxication.\nThe officer searched Shafer and discovered he was carrying a Sony car charger, an iTrip music player, an Alpine CD cover and a Jensen CD cover, according to the report. Minger said someone came to the police department Thursday morning to report the CD cover stolen, and that IUPD returned it to the owner.\nAccording to the report, Shafer was booked into the Monroe County Jail on preliminary charges of theft and possession of stolen property, both class D felonies, as well as public intoxication and illegal consumption.\n"One thing that was really good about this was that we had gotten a call from someone who didn't have a campus address who said he saw this person walking through the lot," Minger said. "To have community members give out this kind of information is so important and helps out the police department so much."\nShafer did not return e-mails seeking comment before press time.
(04/20/06 4:15am)
Every IU Police Department officer will work extra hours during Little 500 weekend, but IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said their perspective on law enforcement won't be any different from any other weekend.\n"Our primary function, purpose and perspective is always to minimize any kind of unsafe issues and deal with any kind of illegal or unsafe activity," Minger said. "That's our primary goal. As far as our particular activities and perspective, the way we do business doesn't really change."\nMinger said Little 500 usually results in an unusually high number of arrests because the event spans over the entire weekend but said it is actually less of a problem for IUPD than a regular-season football game.\n"If you stop and think about it, we have about five home games for football each season, and the stadium can hold 50,000 people," he said. "Do you think 50,000 people will be coming to Bloomington this weekend? I don't think so."\nThe main issue during Little 500 weekend, he said, becomes scheduling. Every full-time, part-time and cadet officer will be putting in extra hours.\n"Absolutely everyone will be putting in extra hours," he said. "Some of the events are voluntary because they are smaller events where the officers would be paid by the sponsor, but some of them would be on more of a mandatory basis, because we need more bodies."\nBloomington Police Department Detective Sgt. David Drake said the BPD also takes extra precautions over Little 500 weekend.\n"We have lots of extra people in, and we work special, extended shifts," he said. "Basically, we have a large number of additional officers on-duty and are all prepared for whatever might happen."\nDrake said officers from the Indiana State Excise Police, officers who handle issues such as legal alcohol distribution and consumption, usually make a visit during Little 500 weekend. Minger said the Excise Police work separately from IUPD and sometimes alert them before they raid a Bloomington bar, but sometimes not.\n"They don't confide in us for the most part," he said. "But sometimes they'll call us at the last minute and say 'We're raiding a specific bar because of\nviolations.'"\nMinger said he has seen excise officers work undercover in liquor stores, and when they see someone purchase a large quantity of alcohol, they will sometimes follow him or her to see if he or she serves the alcohol to minors. They also often make appearances in Bloomington on weekends of home football games, he said.\nDespite the annual high arrest count, Minger said the main purpose of the increased police presence is not to look for intoxicated drivers or minor consumption. Their mission, he said, is to help with services for the events and to provide extra security because more people will be on campus.\n"We don't ever really go looking for DUIs," he said. "We're aware that they're out there, and when we do come across them, we try to minimize any danger they present."\nHe said that this weekend, like any other weekend, officers will spend most of their time providing services to citizens, such as directing traffic and helping with car accidents.\n"So many people focus on the law enforcement and criminal aspect of police work, but that's such a small percentage of what police do," Minger said.\nRegardless, people will still be arrested. People who are issued citations for certain crimes, such as illegal consumption, will be served a flier instructing them to appear at a hearing Sunday morning, pay $421 in cash and clean up Little 500 trash for half of a day. According to the flier, following these directions will keep students from having a criminal conviction on their records.\n"There will be people who wind up getting citations for illegal consumption, and that will be really evident when we see them picking up trash," Minger said. "Anybody who thinks they might get caught may want to carry some cash with them, because they don't take credit cards"
(04/19/06 4:27am)
The attorney for John R. Myers, II, the man charged with the 2000 murder of IU student Jill Behrman, is asking for his client's trial to be moved out of Morgan County.\nAccording to court documents signed by Myers and his Indianapolis attorney, Patrick Baker, the defense is seeking the change because of the amount of publicity the case has attracted.\n"Due to bias and prejudice created by the extensive media coverage and publicity surrounding the alleged murder allegedly occurring on or about May 31, 2000, the defendant believes it to be impossible to receive a fair trial in Morgan County," Myers said in the petition.\nMyers also requested in the petition that a sample jury be convened to consider his requests.\nDavid J. Remondini, counsel to the Chief Justice in Indianapolis, said a hearing for the petition has been set for 2 p.m May 15 .\nMyers's trial is set for Sept. 18 in the Morgan County Superior Court. Indiana State Police arrested him in his Ellettsville home April 9, after a grand jury indicted him in its investigation into Behrman's death.\nBehrman disappeared almost six years ago, on May 31, 2000. She had been riding her bicycle somewhere near her parents' Bloomington home. She was reported missing that day, but searchers only found her bicycle. Three years later, hunters found Behrman's remains in some Morgan County woods.\nMorgan County Prosecutor Steve Sonnega was not available for comment. Baker said he was not willing to comment over the phone and would not be available to speak in person before press time.
(04/18/06 4:35am)
Bloomington police officers arrested a Bloomington resident early Sunday morning after he shot a gun in the parking lot behind Dunkirk Square.\nOfficers received a call from Uncle Festers bar at 3:35 a.m. after a gun was shot outside, said Bloomington Police Department Detective Sgt. David Drake, reading from the police report. When officers arrived, he said, they found a man lying in the parking lot "motionless, with a great deal of blood about his head and face," and a man was walking toward them holding a handgun.\nAccording to the report, the officers drew their weapons and ordered people onto the ground.\n"As it turned out, the guy who was walking toward them with the gun had actually taken it away from the other man," Drake said.\nOfficers confiscated the weapon, a nine-millimeter handgun with 15 rounds of ammunition, and later found 15 more rounds of ammunition in the motionless man's pocket.\nWitnesses told police that Bloomington resident Andrew R. Hoffman, 23, had been trying to start a fight with another man in the parking lot who was trying to walk away from him. They said Hoffman then pulled a gun from his waistband and waved it around, threatening the people around him. They said he fired a shot in an unknown direction.\n"We found a shell casing on the ground, but we don't know where the bullet is," Drake said.\nWitnesses said in the report that after Hoffman fired the shot, people jumped on him, beat him up and took his gun away. Drake said no people were shot.\nAccording to the report, the officers arrested Hoffman on preliminary charges of criminal recklessness with a firearm and pointing a firearm, both of which are class D felonies.\nDrake said Hoffman did have a valid permit for the handgun. He said Hoffman refused to answer questions from police.
(04/17/06 4:35am)
A witness whom police had been seeking since early March in the investigation of the 2000 abduction and murder of IU student Jill Behrman finally reconnected with police Thursday.\nThe witness, whose identity remains unknown to the public, called Indiana State Police Detective Rick Lang after hearing repeated requests through media outlets from the Indiana State Police to call back and offer more information, said Indiana State Police Public Information Officer David Bursten in a press release. The witness had originally called police May 31, 2000, the day Behrman was reported missing, and offered information about a suspicious red compact car she had seen near West and North Maple Grove roads.\nLang began using media outlets to ask the witness to come forward after authorities announced that the case would be sent to the grand jury, Bursten said in the release.\n"Most likely, I would not have been able to find this witness without the assistance of the media," Lang said in the press release.\nLang cannot reveal specific information that the witness provided, but Bursten said in the release that Lang indicated that the witness "helped clarify issues related to the investigation."\nLast week, Indiana State Police arrested Ellettsville resident John R. Myers II, 30, and charged him with one count of murder. Morgan County Prosecutor Steve Sonnega said he believes Myers "knowingly and intentionally" killed Behrman, according to an April 11 Indiana Daily Student article. Behrman first disappeared on a bicycle ride in 2000. Authorities did not locate Behrman's remains until May 2003, when hunters stumbled upon them in some Morgan County woods.\nSonnega and Morgan County Superior Court Judge Tom Gray have also scheduled a hearing for July 5 to decide whether documents revealing Behrman's cause of death can be made available to the public or must remain sealed for the benefit of the investigation, Bursten said in the release.
(04/13/06 6:16am)
Dozens of white luminary bags lined the walkway of the Kappa Kappa Gamma house Wednesday night, just as they had one year earlier.\nMinutes before 8 p.m., members of the house filed out the door and sat down on their porch around a projector screen, waiting to honor their sister Ashley Crouse, who had died exactly a year ago in a car wreck. To remember her, they had collected photographs taken throughout the 21 years of her life and prepared a slideshow to present to Crouse's friends and family.\nAs 8 p.m. passed, Crouse's loved ones filled the porch, spilling onto the stairs, into the walkway and even out onto the lawn. Hundreds of people had come to remember her life.\n"Look at how many people are here," said junior Ashley Rutledge, who had known Crouse since middle school. "Look at how many people she affected. She changed so many lives."\nAt the other end of the walkway, Crouse's friends placed flowers and cards around the stoplight pole of Hawthorne Avenue and Third Street, the site of the accident that had killed Crouse just after midnight on April 12, 2005. A cross with the initials "ALC" hangs on the pole. Crouse had been riding home from an IU Dance Marathon meeting that night in her boyfriend's car when another car hit the side of it, throwing her out of the vehicle.\nSince then, Crouse's friends said they have been trying to figure out how to handle the loss.\n"I think this is a just a good time for people that knew her to get together and reflect on a year without her," said junior Jill Dworkus, who had known Crouse since the sixth grade. "It's good to talk about how we've been able to get over it but still keep her in our hearts."\nDworkus said she and Crouse had always gone to school together. Crouse's friends had been encouraged to write down their favorite memory of her while at the memorial. Dworkus sat on the Kappa walkway sifting through all of the memories of Crouse in her head. She decided her favorite memory was the time she was crowned homecoming queen at Carmel High School.\n"I think it's perfect because she really symbolizes Carmel High School to me," she said.\nRutledge sat with Dworkus on the walkway, recording her own favorite memory of Crouse. Crouse had spent her first year of college at Clemson University in South Carolina, and when she came home for the summer, she told Rutledge she was going to transfer to IU.\n"I saw her at the workout center when she came home for the summer," she said through tears. "She told me she was transferring, and I remember I gave her a hug. I knew IU would be such a better place with her here. It's so true."\nBack on the porch, Crouse's friends and family watched and remembered Crouse's college and high school years, graduation, formals, Dance Marathons and everyday moments. Most of the time, they held each other through tears, but a few photographs of her in Halloween costumes and with funny faces inspired smiles and even laughter. \n"She was always smiling," Dworkus said. "She would always say 'hi' to everyone. She was always there -- I can't remember ever turning a corner and not seeing her face."\nBut Crouse wasn't in every picture. Images of the Kappa Kappa Gamma walkway with the luminary bags from a year ago flashed across the screen, as well as photographs of the walk that thousands of students made across campus in her honor the day she died. In one picture, students held signs with the number 677,415, representing the number of dollars raised for the 2005 IU Dance Marathon held in her honor. During her time at IU, Crouse had been passionately involved with the annual event.\nThrough tears and smiles, Crouse's friends watched photos of her with her friends, her sorority sisters, her boyfriend and her family. But in every picture, she was smiling. Even though she had been gone for a year, Crouse smiled at her friends and family on the Gamma lawn thousands of time throughout Wednesday night.
(04/13/06 5:43am)
A woman reported to the IU Police Department that an acquaintance raped her in a McNutt Quad dorm room the morning of April 6, said IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger.\nThe woman reported that she told the man she did not want to have sex with him, but he forced her to, Minger said. She said they had been consuming alcohol.\n"She did indicate that she did not want to have sexual relations with him," Minger said. "He continued to force himself on her, and they did have \nintercourse."\nMinger said police will re-interview the subject to see if she intends to press charges. IUPD initially interviews rape victims at the time they report the crime and then goes back a few days later to give them time to think about what they want.\n"She wasn't sure at first," Minger said. "She kind of thought she didn't want to pursue anything legally. But we'll re-interview her -- I always hate to take that first indication that they don't want to pursue it"