In September 2022, Ascension St. Vincent Dunn and all Lawrence County Ascension Medical Group practices announced they would be closing, Monroe County Prosecutor files a reckless homicide charge against Madelyn Howard who struck and killed an IU student riding an electric scooter, a Bloomington man was arrested after hiding in Bloomington’s sewer system, and a former Bedford police officer pleads guilty for official misconduct and battery.
Ascension St. Vincent Dunn and all Lawrence County Ascension Medical Group practices announced they will be closing in December
Ascension St. Vincent Dunn and all Lawrence County Ascension Medical Group practices will be closing on December 16, 2022, according to Ascension St. Vincent Dunn.
According to a statement released to hospital leadership, providers, and associates as well as external partners plans are in place to ensure continuity of care for patients. The plans include discussions with local and regional providers to transition healthcare services.
Ascension St. Vincent Dunn is one of two Critical Access Hospitals in Lawrence County. The other is IU Health Bedford Hospital.
According to the statement, after exploring the options available, including an unsuccessful search for a buyer for St. Vincent Dunn Hospital, it was clear to Ascension officials that other providers with a larger presence in the region are better positioned to efficiently serve the residents of Bedford and the neighboring communities.
Prosecutor files reckless homicide charge against Madelyn Howard who struck and killed an IU student riding an electric scooter
Monroe County Prosecutor Erika Oliphant in September 2022 filed criminal charges against 22-year-old Madelyn Howard, who caused a fatal accident claiming the life of 20-year-old Indiana University student Nate Stratton.
Howard is facing felony charges of reckless homicide, leaving the scene of an accident causing death when operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Stratton had just started his junior year at IU, where he was pursuing studies in entrepreneurship. He graduated from Minnetonka High School in 2020, was active in the skiing community, and competed with the club Team Gilboa. He spent many days of his childhood on the slopes of Hyland Hills.
On Saturday, September 18th at 1:50 a.m. Bloomington Police officers responded to the intersection of North Walnut and 12th streets after a report of an accident with injuries. Several witnesses called 911 to report the crash. One of the drivers fled the scene and traveled north on Walnut Street at a high rate of speed.
According to Bloomington Police Capt. Ryan Pedigo, the driver of the fleeing vehicle had struck 20-year-old Nathaniel Stratton, of Miromar Lakes, Florida, who was riding an electric scooter. Stratton was badly injured.
When officers arrived they located Stratton lying along the east edge of the roadway, just north of the intersection. An ambulance arrived and shortly thereafter he was transported to IU Health Bloomington Hospital.
While Bloomington Police were on the scene, an officer with Indiana University Police Department located the fleeing vehicle at the intersection of 19th and Lincoln streets.
Bloomington Police responded to the scene and located the black 2012 Mercedes Benz car with damage to the windshield. They located the badly damaged electric scooter nearby.
A security officer that had been driving through the area advised officers that they had seen the car driving north on Lincoln Street and it sounded as if the car was dragging something. The security officer stated that the car stopped at the intersection of 19th and Lincoln streets and a female got out of the driver’s seat and a male got out of the front passenger seat.
The security officer heard individuals nearby tell the occupants of the vehicle that they were dragging an electric scooter under the car and the bystanders helped the driver remove it just prior to Indiana University Police arriving on the scene.
Video shared by an Uber driver showed the car turning onto 17th Street after the crash, kicking up sparks as it dragged the scooter underneath.
Howard told the officer she left Kilroy’s Sports at 319 North Walnut Street and was taking a friend home because he was too intoxicated to drive. She agreed to drive him home.
Initially, Howard “refused to acknowledge being involved in an accident,” police said, and couldn’t explain what caused the damage to her car. She failed a series of field sobriety tests. Her eyes were “red and watery,” police said, and she agreed to go for a blood draw.
While Howard claimed she didn’t know what happened to her car, her passenger gave police a clearer picture of what transpired.
Howard’s passenger recalled being hit by the glass from either the windshield or the passenger window. He asked Howard, “Did you hit someone?”
She replied, “I think I hit somebody,” according to court documents. The passenger said he told Howard to pull over; when they stopped, someone flagged them down to tell them they had a scooter lodged underneath their car. A few people helped them dislodge the scooter before the police arrived.
She was transported to the IU Health Bloomington Hospital for a blood draw, then to the Bloomington Police Department for further questioning. At approximately 6 a.m., on Sunday, Bloomington Police were notified by hospital staff that Stratton had died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.
Investigators were able to view security camera footage from a business located near the scene of the crash and the involved vehicle can be seen driving by at the time of the crash with the passenger side tires up on the sidewalk on the east side of Walnut Street. The vehicle appears to be traveling at a high rate of speed and an individual on the sidewalk can be seen jumping into the grass to avoid being struck by the vehicle just prior to it striking Stratton on the scooter.
Her jury trial is scheduled for March 27, 2023, at 9 a.m. in Monroe Circuit Court 9.
Man apprehended from Bloomington’s storm sewer
The man that barricaded himself in Bloomington’s storm sewer in September 2022 also faces a charge of sexual battery after an incident earlier that day.
According to a probable cause affidavit, police were first alerted of 37-year-old Eli Swartzentruber’s activity on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, at around 8:30 a.m. when a woman told police he sexually assaulted her just two hours earlier.
A woman reported Swartzentruber arrived at her cabin on West Koontz Road at 6:30 a.m. and asked her if she would go “live underground” with him. When she told him that she did not want to go, Swartzentruber allegedly pulled out a machete and told her he would be back in ten minutes.
Swartzentruber returned and began to hurridly pack the woman’s belongings. Swartzentruber stated they had to hurry because he needed to return a stolen truck before sunrise. The woman commented to Swartzentruber that she did not want to go and did not want to go to jail.
Swartzentruber told her while armed with the machete, “I’ll bail you out, break you out and the police will have to take me down dead before they take me because I got this.”
He then squeezed the woman’s neck and kissed her, took off his pants, and stuffed cash down her shirt.
The woman used the excuse that needed to go outside and use the restroom in an attempt to escape. She grabbed her bag and Swartzentruber’s pants to prevent him from following her as she went outside.
By the time police were contacted and arrived on the scene Swartzentruber had fled.
But a short time later, at 9:30 a.m. police responded to Seminary Park after a report of a man with a hatchet.
When officers arrived, a man with a hatchet laid the weapon down and approached them. He told police a man (Swartzentruber) attacked him and threw the hatchet at him. He then informed the officers that Swartzentruber had retrieved the hatchet from a truck located in the Kroger parking lot.
The truck was registered to Swartzentruber.
Others in the park also reported Swartzentruber attacked them and swung a metal rod at them.
Investigators found Swartzentruber’s clothing near a storm drain and determined he had entered the city’s underground sewer system.
Police armed with city diagrams, flashbangs, and cameras searched the City of Bloomington’s sewer system for Swartzentruber. Ultimately Indiana State Police K-9 Loki apprehended Swartzentruber after an eight-hour standoff.
Swartzentruber faces charges of sexual battery, residential entry, battery resulting in bodily injury, battery using a deadly weapon, and intimidation.
Prosecutors are treating the two incidents as separate cases. Both cases are still pending in Monroe Circuit Court 2.
Former Bedford Police Captian Morgan Lee pleads guilty to official misconduct and battery
Former Bedford Police Department Captian Morgan Lee was sentenced in September 2022 in Lawrence County Superior Court I after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges of official misconduct and battery.
A charge of strangulation was dropped in a negotiated plea deal.
Lee was sentenced to 365 days in jail. He was given credit for one day served and 363 days were suspended. He will serve one year on supervised probation and serve 50 hours of community service.
According to an Indiana State Police report, 45-year-old Lee turned himself in at the Lawrence County Jail at 6:40 p.m. Friday, March 4, 2022, posted his bond, and was released from jail.
According to a probable cause affidavit, ISP Detective Sgt. Brock Werne began an investigation into Officer Lee’s behavior on August 2, 2021, after a citizen accused Lee of battery.
A male filed a complaint saying on January 8, 2021, Lee had thrown him to the ground and choked him. The male stated Officer Lee “pushed himself up off the ground with my throat between his hand and the floor.” The male said he suffered contusions. The incident was captured on video.
The incident began after Bedford Police Department received a 911 call on January 8, 2021, at approximately 12:08 a.m. reporting a domestic dispute at 510 H St., in Bedford.
Captain Morgan Lee, Sgt. Chase Hamilton and Officer Clay Blackburn responded to the incident. The call sheet showed officers left the residence at 1:04 a.m. and advised dispatch that the domestic was verbal and the female left with her mother. The man involved was not arrested.
Officer Lee was informed of the investigation and was asked to speak to the ISP detective. Lee said he would contact his attorney. Lee gave the investigator a statement on August 9, 2021.
On August 4, 2021, the investigator was contacted by the victim’s attorney Timothy Sledd saying the incident was captured on security footage outside of the victim’s home.
The video showed the victim wrapping his bleeding finger with paper towels. Officer Lee walks into the victim’s residence and stands to the right side of the kitchen countertop. Dialogue between Officer Lee and the victim is audible in the video. Lee then lunges toward the victim. At the same time, Officer Lee extends his hands forward and places them on the victim’s chest. Lee pushes the male victim backward and towards the refrigerator. The victim can be heard saying “What are you going to do beat me in my own expletive house?” Officer Lee then pushes the male victim down to the kitchen floor. While on the floor with Lee on top of him, the male victim’s hands are visible out to his side. The male is heard saying “Choke me out as long as you expletive want expletive.” Lee then gets up off of the male.
The ISP investigator then met with BPD Chief Terry Moore who provided the investigator with additional information including Lee’s body camera videos and interviews with officers involved in the incident.
The investigator reviewed those statements and camera footage.
The first body camera video showed the incident between Lee and the victim in the kitchen of the residence. There is a dialogue between Lee and the victim. Lee asks for the male’s identification. The male handed Officer Lee the identification. Lee checks with dispatch and determines that the male is not wanted for any crimes. Lee then repeatedly asks if the male wants an ambulance for his finger. The victim repeatedly says no. Lee tells the male to quit raising his voice. The male asks what Lee is going to do about it. Lee states “You’re going to end up on the wrong side of this.” The male asks Lee how. Lee again asks if the male wants an ambulance. The male responds “No. I expletive said I don’t want an ambulance.” The male then turns and talks to the other officer present. Lee then yells “Hey shut the expletive up.” The male responds “expletive you expletive.” Officer Lee then lunges toward the male and can be seen pushing him. The video then ends abruptly.
The next body camera video briefly shows a scuffle. The victim’s voice can be heard saying “Choke me out as long as you expletive want expletive.”
The next body camera footage shows Lee outside talking with the male’s girlfriend. Lee tells her that the male was mad and kept raising his voice and spitting on Lee.
On August 9, 2021, the investigator met with Morgan Lee at the ISP Jasper Post. Lee’s attorney Ed Merchant was also present.
Lee told the investigator that he responded to a call regarding a domestic situation between a male and his girlfriend. The male had cut his finger and Lee was concerned that the male needed medical attention. He went inside the home to check on the male. Based on his observations and experience he believed the male was intoxicated, however, he did not administer a portable breath test. They exchanged some words, Lee then approached the male in a way that was going to tell him he needed to show some respect. Lee stated he was spat on by the male. Lee then made physical contact with the male tripping and taking him to the ground so that Lee was not spat on him again. Lee then lay on top of the male for a few seconds until the male calmed down. Lee denied choking or punching the man. Lee was asked if the male purposely spat on him and Lee stated it was on purpose.
Lee was then asked why they did not arrest the male. Lee stated that when the girlfriend was leaving with her mother the threat was removed.
The investigator asked why the male was not arrested for the battery of a police officer. Lee explained that he would have had to sit at the hospital due to the male’s need for medical treatment for his finger and state of intoxication. Lee believed that was not the best course of action, that he had been spit on before and not taken someone to jail, that they were already in a tense situation, and that trying to put the male in cuffs would have been a fight. Lee stated that not arresting the male was cutting everyone a break.
Lee was asked about Bedford Police Department’s policy regarding arrest after an officer physically goes ‘hands-on with a subject”. Lee explained he used discretion in making the decision not to arrest, and was unaware of a policy requiring arrest after an officer goes hands-on with a subject.
Lee stated that he had seen a video of the incident, and if he had been looking to do harm he would not have had his arms hooked into his vest. Lee was asked why his body camera went off during the encounter. Lee stated that he did not know why, but that it does not take much to slide it off. He later realized the camera was not on when he was outside talking with the man’s girlfriend and then turned it on again.
On August 11, 2021, Sgt. Hamilton was interviewed. He stated he did not see Lee get spit on but did see Lee bring the male to the ground. Sgt. Hamilton then secured the male’s legs until Lee allowed the male to stand up. Hamilton stated that no arrest was made because of Captain Lee’s decision not to arrest. Lee was Hamilton’s superior officer.
The investigator also interviewed the male victim.
The male stated that Lee violently slammed him to the floor of the kitchen. It caused the back of the male’s head to hit the floor and caused pain. Lee held the man against the ground with his body weight, and applied his body weight to the man’s neck and throat with his forearm or hand, restricting the male’s breathing and causing pain and fear that Lee was going to strangle him unconscious. The male did say he told Lee to choke him as long as he wanted. Lee then pushed his body up and off of the male by placing his weight on the male’s throat as if doing a pushup. Lee then went outside.
The male was not arrested and stated that at no time during this interaction did he spit on Lee, either on purpose or by accident.
The investigator determined that there was no spitting visible in any of the camera footage.
Following the verbal exchange, Lee can be clearly seen lunging toward the man until Lee’s nose is just inches from the male’s face. Lee places his hands on the male’s chest and pushes the male back toward the refrigerator. Lee then pushes the male down to the floor and gets on top of him.
Based on the investigation, the information was forwarded to Monroe County Senior Prosecuting Attorney Chris Gaal, who is the special prosecutor assigned to the case and a warrant was issued for Lee’s arrest. The Board of Works recommended Lee’s termination, however, Lee submitted a letter of resignation prior to the termination.
