COLUMBUS, Ind. – Three Columbus teenagers have been arrested for their involvement in the alleged jumping of a 19-year-old in a barn earlier this month.
The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) was called at 2:50 a.m. on June 3 to Columbus Regional Health (CRH) after initially being notified of the crime. According to deputies, the victim had a significant amount of dried blood covering the right side of his face, a swollen and bleeding lip, a large laceration on the right side of his face, a long thin laceration across his right cheek, a contusion across his neck, and additional cuts and scrapes on his neck and face.
The victim told BCSO he accepted an offer from a girl to get food in town, per Sgt. Dane Duke. Instead of stopping to get food, the girl supposedly drove to an abandoned barn in the east part of the county where several masked people pulled the victim from the car into the barn.
He was allegedly beaten, struck several times, and possibly cut with a knife. After the altercation, the suspects left and the victim walked to a nearby neighborhood to summon help from a resident.
As a result of what is still an ongoing investigation, the following arrests have been made:
- Charles Breedlove, 18, of Columbus, is being held on a 72-hour hold in the Bartholomew County Jail (BCJ) on preliminary charges of kidnapping, a level 3 felony, robbery, a level 2 felony, criminal confinement, a level 3 felony, and aggravated battery, level 3 felony.
- Emily Franklin, 18, of Columbus, is being held on a 72-hour hold in BCJ and preliminarily charged with kidnapping, a level 3 felony, robbery, a level 2 felony, criminal confinement, a level 3 felony, and aggravated battery, a level 3 felony.
- Ashton Fields, 18, of Columbus is being held on a 72-hour hold in BCJ on preliminary charges of kidnapping, a level 3 felony, robbery level, a 2 felony, criminal confinement, a level 3 felony, and aggravated battery, a level 3 felony.
If anyone has information pertaining to this incident, contact Detective Kevin Abner at 812-565-5930.