Two Arrested After Vehicle Pursuit
Staff Report
PIERCETON — Two people were arrested for attempting to conceal a man’s identity after the man led officers in a vehicle pursuit.
David M. Eppert, 43, 612 W. Boston St., Syracuse, is charged with resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, a level 6 felony; resisting law enforcement and driving while suspended prior, both class A misdemeanors; leaving the scene of an accident, a class B misdemeanor; and reckless driving, a class C misdemeanor.
Jacqueline R. Richard, 38, 11605 W. 200S, Pierceton, is charged with assisting a criminal, a level 5 felony; and false informing, a class B misdemeanor.
On July 14, an Indiana State Police trooper noticed a pickup truck traveling south on SR 13 that had expired plates. As the trooper attempted to pull the pickup truck over, a vehicle pursuit ensued.
According to court documents, the pursuit went from North Webster to southeast of Wilmot in Noble County. During the pursuit, the vehicle’s driver drove recklessly, driving left of center around curves and over hills, all while speeding. The driver also ran over a stop sign and hit a utility pole during the pursuit.
The pursuit ended when the driver drove into a wooded area and fled on foot. Officers were unable to locate the driver at that time. While searching the pickup truck, which was left running, the ISP trooper found an unlocked cellphone. On the cellphone’s screen, the trooper saw incoming Facebook messages from a woman who was warning the phone’s owner about officers.
The trooper obtained a search warrant for the phone and determined its owner was Eppert. Eppert had an active warrant for dealing methamphetamine. A return from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles also showed that Eppert’s driver’s license was suspended prior.
Through further investigation, officers were able to determine that Eppert lived at a location in Pierceton. It was also determined that Richard was one of the people who lived at the address.
On July 19, the trooper conducted surveillance on the property and saw a man who appeared to match Eppert’s description get into a vehicle. The trooper then saw Richard get into the driver’s seat of the vehicle and take off.
Officers followed the vehicle north on SR 13. At the intersection with Bowser Road, an ISP trooper saw a small child walking around in the vehicle’s rear cargo area. This led to the trooper pulling the vehicle over for a child restraint violation.
Upon approaching the vehicle, the trooper saw four children in the vehicle and Eppert, who was laying in the vehicle’s rear passenger seat with a hood pulled up. When asked what was wrong with the man in the back seat, Richard allegedly said Eppert was sick and had been hitchhiking.
The trooper told Richard that wasn’t true since he’d been traveling behind her on SR 13 since Epworth Forest Road.