In August 2022, A Indiana State Police detective is arrested after he allegedly stole a firearm from evidence. Lawrence County begins an asphalt rejuvenation process to help preserve county roads and Shields Memorial Gymnasium in Seymour is placed on the Indiana Landmarks 10 Most Endangered list.
A Bloomington Post Indiana State Police Detective is arrested after a firearm comes up missing from evidence.
A probable cause affidavit filed in Monroe County Circuit Court 9, says Indiana State detective Daniel Crozier was arrested on felony charges of theft of a firearm and official misconduct after he has a strange conversation with an evidence specialist at the Indiana State Police Bloomington Post.
The evidence specialist told the detective that Daniel Crozier was at the post and asked the evidence specialist about the destruction process of guns being held in evidence, how they were tracked and why they were not put up for sale saying he would buy them. He then asked the specialist if anyone looked at the weapons before they are destroyed.
Feeling uncomfortable, about the discussion, court documents say the specialist lied to Crozier, saying the guns were tracked in the computer, counted, and inspected prior to transport and that they were checked during audits. The specialist told investigators Crozier continued to ask questions. Crozier then said he had to leave and go home to take care of his dog. But during the investigation, Crozier told detectives he needed to go home to check on his daughter.
Crozier came back in about an hour later and parked in front of the evidence barn where the weapons are stored. The technician told detectives he asked Crozier what he needed and he drove off. Crozier then stopped and asked if the alarm was set, which the technician said it is always set.
Crozier told the specialist that he needed two gun boxes and had to deactivate the alarm to get them. However, those gun boxes were inside the ISP post for all troopers to use.
Detectives reviewed security footage and found Crozier parked his truck directly in front of the evidence barn on two occasions. The way he parked, partially blocked the view of the two security cameras.
On the first occasion, Crozier is seen on the video footage entering the evidence barn and then carrying something out in a brown paper bag. He is then seen putting that bag under the front seat of his truck. He then grabbed something and went back into the barn. He then exited the barn and closed and locked the door.
Crozier told investigators he had lost a pocket knife and was looking for it. He then admitted to taking a handgun from the box and resealing it. He said he took the gun home to “reference it against one of his guns”. He denied stealing the gun saying he was only interested in the after-market night sights on it. He denied removing any part from the gun or firing it. However, investigators found a note on his laptop from a few months before the incident referenced “replace Glock sights.” Crozier told investigators he kept the gun for a week and then returned it. He told investigators he never thought he would be caught.
A warrant was issued for Crozier’s arrest on August 24th. On August 25th he posted a $2,500 bond and was released from jail. Crozier is being represented by Joseph Lozano and Crozier’s initial hearing was waived. Crozier was placed on electronic monitoring. A pretrial conference is scheduled for January 19, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. before Judge Mary Ellen Diekhoff.
Lawrence County Highway will use asphalt rejuvenation treatments to save county roads
The Lawrence County Highway Department reported in August 2022 it would be using asphalt rejuvenation in the process of restoring chemical properties in deteriorating asphalt. Unlike conventional asphalt emulsion sealers that are water-based, asphalt rejuvenators are made from coal tar blended with aromatic oils and solvents.
“This is a new procedure for us,” said Commissioner President Rodney Fish. “It will be good to see how this progresses in the county.”
An asphalt rejuvenator penetrates the asphalt well below the surface to chemically revitalize and protect the asphalt binder by replacing the tars and oils lost due to oxidation. This process also seals the pavement against air, water, and chemical contaminants thereby slowing oxidation and deterioration which extends the effective service life of the pavement.
Shields Memorial Gymnasium is on Indiana Landmarks’ 10 Most Endangered list
Every day, all year long, Indiana Landmarks works to revitalize historic structures that give communities visible connections to their past and lend irreplaceable visual character to the streetscape. In July Indiana Landmarks announce the 10 Most Endangered, a list of historic places on the brink of extinction and too important to lose.
Included on the list is Shields Memorial Gymnasium on West 5th Street in Seymour.
The future remains uncertain for a temple of Indiana basketball in Seymour. One of Indiana’s largest high school gymnasiums when it was built by Works Progress Administration workers in 1941, the James M. Shields Memorial Gymnasium provided the backdrop for decades of local basketball memories, hosting 21 sectional titles from 1942-1970. A local family purchased the long-vacant property in 1996 and later had to demolish the seriously dilapidated 1910 high school nearby, leaving the gym as the last tangible school tie to the site for many Seymour alumni.
Today the gym remains empty. Vandals continue to break windows and cover walls with graffiti, despite the current owner’s attempts to secure the property. Though roof leaks have allowed water to infiltrate the building, an architectural assessment showed the steel and concrete gym to be structurally sound.
Community support for finding a new use for the Shields Memorial Gymnasium remains strong. The landmark gym occupies a city block on 5th Street in Seymour’s National Register-listed Walnut Street Historic District, surrounded by green space that opens up possibilities for incorporating the historic building into a new residential development.
Indiana Landmarks has engaged the owner, consultants, and the City of Seymour in discussions about the building’s future and possible rehabilitation, but a game plan for redevelopment has yet to be put into play.
Seymour’s WPA-era Shields Memorial Gym occupies a prime spot in the city’s Walnut Street Historic District, surrounded by open land that could make it a target for demolition and development.
Without action, Marion could lose a significant landmark designed by Samuel Plato, one of the early twentieth century’s most prominent Black architects.
