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Last updated on Monday, January 1, 2018
(UNDATED) - In January, a Campbellsburg man was arrested and charged with murder; the price of the forever stamp increased; construction on the Brent Steele bridge began and a 74-year-old Bloomington man was arrested after he served THC laced cookies to church parishioners earlier in the year and two men were sentenced to prison on child molesting charges.
Murder of Blake Box-Skinner
Blake Box-Skinner
On January 12th, 20-year-old Joshuah Rainbolt was arrested for the murder of Blake Box-Skinner.
According to an Indiana State Police, Rainbolt shot 20-year-old Box-Skinner in the back of the head with a shotgun and left his body in an outbuilding under a washing machine at a home at 10906 Lost River Road. Rainbolt told police he then disposed of the murder weapon in the White River.
Police discovered Box-Skinner's body after his family reported him missing.
Police have not released a motive for the murder. He is scheduled to stand trail in Washington County Circuit Court on March 6, 2018 at 8:30 a.m.
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An Odon man was sentenced January 19th to prison after he pleaded guilty to molesting a then 2-year-old girl.
Lawrence County Superior Court II Judge William Sleva sentenced 36-year-old Robert Ping to 15 years in prison with five years suspended to supervised probation. As part of the plea agreement, felony charges of child molesting, two counts of child exploitation, and one count of child solicitation were dropped. Ping, who is mentally handicapped, was friends with the girl's father and had worked for him rehabilitating homes. The parents of the victim knew about Ping's problems. The incident happened in March 2014.
According to a probable cause affidavit, police say the parents reported that they went on a camping trip with another family and left Ping with their children.
When they returned, an older child told their parents that Ping "had done something sexual" to their sister. The older child told their parents they saw the act happen and heard the young child cry out "it hurts."
Police later spoke with the toddler who said Ping undressed and took pictures of her.
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On January 22, the cost to purchase a Forever Stamp went up from 47 cents to 49 cents.
The last increase came in January 2014, according to the U.S. Postal Service, when it went from 47 cents to 49 cents.
Then last April, the Postal Regulatory Commission ordered the USPS to drop its prices for the first time in 97 years.
Postmaster General Megan Brennan protested, saying, "given our precarious financial condition and ongoing business needs, the price reduction required by the PRC exacerbates our losses."
But adjustments for gas for mail trucks, wages, maintenance costs for its buildings and other factors forced the US Postal Service to seek back that two cents and thereby their request for the rate increase request back to 49 cents.
Forever stamps were first introduced in April 2007, and within four years, all first-class one-ounce stamps became Forever stamps according to the USPS website. The Forever Stamps were developed "for consumers ease of use" during price changes.
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A Bedford man was sentenced Friday Jan. 20th to 20 years in prison after he was found guilty by a jury of multiple counts of child molestation.
On Friday, Lawrence County Superior Court I Judge Michael Robbins sentenced 72-year-old Raymond Spicer to 20 years in prison with 15 years suspended to probation and house arrest.
In October, a 12-person jury found Spicer guilty of a Class A felony; sexual misconduct with a minor, Level 4 felony; three counts of child molesting, Class C felonies; sexual misconduct with a minor, Class B felony; and sexual misconduct with a minor, Class C felony. All of the sentences were ordered to run concurrent.
According to court records, Spicer was ordered to serve 9 years at the Indiana Department of Corrections. He will then be released to four years of house arrest in lieu of incarceration. Judge Robbins suspended 11 years to probation; 4 years supervised and the remaining unsupervised. He must also register as a sex offender.
According to testimony during the trial, on July 24, 2014, a 14-year-old boy called his father to pick him up from Spicer's home. The father told police the son was very upset and said that Spicer had touched him.
When an officer talked with the victims, the boy and his sister say they were at Spicer's home for dinner and a Bible study. When they arrived, the boy sat on Spicer's lap and Spicer started rubbing the boy's back.
The boy then went outside where his sister was until they were called inside for dinner.
The boy's sister and Spicer's wife went upstairs for a Bible study while the boy went to take a nap. He told police that while lying on the couch, Spicer sat down next to him and started rubbing his back and then lower until his hands were down the boy's pants. The boy attempted to get Spicer to stop, but Spicer said 'it's okay' and continued to fondle the boy.
The 14-year-old went upstairs to get his sister's attention, but couldn't, so he called his father. The boy told police this type of incident occurred multiple times during the past two years.
The first incident happened in 2012 when Spicer and the boy were lying down by a fireplace. Spicer instructed the victim to put his hand down Spicer's pants. Similar incidents occurred at least two more times.
Officers spoke with the victim's sister who said Spicer also touched her in 2010 when she was 14 years old. She told police she was lying with Spicer in a hammock at his home. Spicer started rubbing her back, continuously rubbing lower and lower. The sister said Spicer then started rubbing her thigh, up into her skirt, and touched her through her panties.
The sister told Spicer to stop and pushed his hand away, but Spicer continued to fondle her.
A detective also spoke with Spicer's wife, who said the 14-year-old boy always looked up to Spicer and that he loved Spicer. She said the boy would not accuse Spicer of anything unless it was true, the court document states. She said she kicked Spicer out of the home when the boy's father told her of the incidents.
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Work began January 16th on Bridge 25, the Brent E. Steele Bridge, located on Leatherwood Road near Otis Park. The contract was with Duncan Robinson to replace the bridge at a cost of $357,527.60.
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A 74-year-old Bloomington man was arrested in January after he served THC laced cookies to parishioners at St. John's Catholic Church back in May.
Ellettsville police arrested Brian Jones on two misdemeanor charges of criminal recklessness and possession of hashish oil.
Six churchgoers ended up in the emergency room May 22, 2016 after they ate THC-laced cookies after mass at St. John The Apostle Church.
The cookies were distributed by Jones, who is a long-time church member, after morning mass at the Ellettsville church.
Police determined that the cookies had an unexpected ingredient: THC, the intoxicating agent in marijuana. The drug was found after a cookie that had been saved by one of the churchgoers was sent to the Indiana State Police lab for testing.
At least six people who attended mass, ranging in age from 12 to 70, ended up in the emergency room at IU Health Bloomington Hospital later that day with symptoms including high blood pressure, anxiety, lethargy and paranoia. No one had long lasting or serious side effects from eating the cookies.
Jones will face a jury of his peers on January 25th at 9 a.m.
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