A Jeffersonville man sentenced over a year in prison for failure to comply was among three people sentenced recently in Highland County Common Pleas Court.
Timothy Williams, Jr., 30, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on one count of failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer, a third-degree felony. He was given 102 days of jail-time credit and his driver’s license was suspended for five years starting on Aug. 24, 2023.
According to court documents, while on patrol in a marked cruiser around May 14, 2023, a sergeant and patrol officer saw a white GMC truck with expired tags at a stop sign. The license plate on the truck was sent through dispatch and confirmed to be expired. The GMC truck suddenly accelerated northbound onto North Washington Street and pulled directly in front of a vehicle going northbound.
The vehicle going northbound was forced to slam on its breaks to avoid a collision. The sergeant pulled onto North Washington Street and activated the patrol vehicle’s lights and sirens to start a traffic stop. The truck failed to pull over and continued to accelerate. The truck entered the opposite lane of traffic and passed a vehicle going northbound on North Washington Street.
The sergeant by that time was reaching speeds of 80 mph as it continued to pull away. The truck approached S.R. 41 at a high rate of speed and then abruptly braked and passed a vehicle that was trying to turn northbound onto S.R. 41. The truck nearly lost control and barely avoided a collision with the vehicle.
After control was regained, the truck continued its high rate of speed on S.R. 41. It turned onto Island Grove Road, a dead-end road with a guardrail at the end. While on the road the truck “heavily” applied its brakes, which caused it to go off both sides of the road as well as slide for about 200 feet before stopping in the roadway before the guardrail.
As the truck stopped, the sergeant saw a male driver and somebody in the passenger seat. The passenger door of the truck opened and the male driver pushed the passenger out of the truck. The male then exited. The passenger complied with the sergeant’s command and laid flat on the ground. The male then approached the sergeant’s patrol vehicle while he threw his hands in the air and cussed.
The male stopped walking toward the patrol vehicle but refused to comply with the orders to get on the ground. A patrol officer arrived to assist. The sergeant approached the male and performed a take down, placing him in handcuffs. The patrol officer placed the passenger in hand restraints too. The sergeant escorted the male, who identified himself as Williams, Jr., to the patrol vehicle. Williams at first denied driving the truck and also said the passenger had been the driver.
However, after a short time he admitted to being the driver and said he fled from the officers because he didn’t want to go back to prison. Williams also said “that he always ran from the police and would never stop running.” Asked if there was anything illegal in the vehicle, he said there might be needles. He said he “shot-up” methamphetamine a few hours before the incident.
The sergeant then spoke to the passenger. The officers said that Williams was driving the truck and that he would run when law enforcement got behind him. The officers said that Williams told them to switch seats during the pursuit.
They also said that they “pleaded” with Williams to pull over because they were scared. They indicated that when the truck pulled over, he started to pull the passenger into the driver’s seat and yelled that it was their fault and needed to say it was them driving. They said that they opened the passenger door, which was when Williams pushed her out of the door.
In other sentencings, James Brown, Jr., 42, Greenfield, was sentenced to three years of community control on one count of theft by deception, a fifth-degree felony.
Brown must successfully complete the Star treatment program and recommended aftercare and pay restitution of $1,319 to the victim through the Highland County Victim Witness Office.
According to court documents, on July 11, 2022, the owner of a business went to the Highland County Sheriff’s Office to report a theft and forgery. The owner said that Brown, an employee, had altered a check by changing the amount and depositing $900 into his personal account. The check was originally written to be $125 and was paid to the dump.
Brown instead wrote the check to himself. He altered the check by changing the amount to $900 and deposited it into his account. The owner indicated that Brown also paid his cell phone bill, an amount of $121, with a company debit card and tried to use it to book a three-night stay in a North Carolina hotel. The owner also said Brown withdrew money from an ATM in the amount of $160.
The deputy asked the owner how Brown got the check. The owner said that drivers are given a blank check each morning to pay the Fayette County Dump. He said drivers have access to a debit card that is used to pay for fuel for the trucks.
On July 20, 2022, Brown arrived at the Highland County Sheriff’s Office at the deputy’s request to discuss the topic. The deputy asked Brown about the checks and he replied that he had permission to write them. A detective talked about the matter with Brown. He “initially” denied stealing any money or writing any checks, but then admitted to using the company debit card to pay his cell phone bill. However, he said that was “accidental.”
Brown admitted to trying to pay for the three-night stay at a North Carolina hotel by using the debit card, but also “indicated” that was accidental as well and the card was declined. Brown also admitted that the forged checks were given to him but he couldn’t give an explanation as to how or why they were forged.
Jamie Wisecup, 30, Hillsboro, was sentenced to three years of community control on one count of aggravated trafficking in meth. He was ordered to be assessed for treatment and complete any recommended treatment and aftercare.
According to court documents, on or around Nov. 1, 2022, Wisecup and her co-defendant knowingly sold or offered to sell meth.
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
