BEDFORD – Former ISP Trooper Russell “Rusty” Garrison and his Attorney Joseph Lozano reached an agreement with the State of Indiana on a restitution amount in Lawrence County Superior Court II Monday.
The restitution amount was reduced from $34,000 to $1,000.
Judge Bob Cline reset Garrison to appear in court on July 31 at 9 a.m. for a possible plea agreement and sentencing.
Garrison a former Bedford North Lawrence School Board member and Indiana State trooper was arrested after he was stopped by a Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department deputy for driving while intoxicated.
On Friday, April 15, 2022, at approximately 1:53 p.m. Lawrence County Central Dispatch was notified by Indian Creek Fire Department Chief Monte Wright, that a red SUV had collided with a utility pole in the area of 5138 State Road 450, and left the scene traveling east toward Bedford.
Garrison who was driving the vehicle struck the pole with enough force to cause the utility pole to break and the pole was blocking the roadway.
While officers were en route, dispatch advised that the red SUV was located at Reveres Food & Fuel.
Officers responded and found 53-year-old Russell Garrison, of Springville, in the driver’s seat of the red SUV. The red SUV that Garrison was found behind the wheel was owned by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. Garrison was a deputy for that department. The vehicle’s front end had heavy damage and was later towed.
Garrison exited the vehicle and officers conducted field sobriety tests. He failed those tests and was detained and transported to IU Health Hospital after a warrant was granted for a blood draw by Judge Nathan Nikirk.
Garrison was medically cleared and transported to jail on charges of leaving the scene of an accident and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
