Jason T. Kelly
By Tim Arnett
WABASH,Indiana – A Wabash man is facing felony battery against a police officer, resisting law enforcement and disorderly conduct charges after a run in with Wabash Police on Thursday evening. According to an Affidavit of Probable Cause by Patrolman Kyle L. Lafferty, police responded to a verbal argument call shortly before 9:30 pm at the corner of Jackson and Garfield Streets and found the girlfriend of 31-year-old Jason T. Kelly outside a home on the 400 block of Jackson Street. Kelly’s girlfriend apparently told police that Kelly was highly intoxicated and that if he came out to talk to officers he “would run his mouth and get into trouble.” All the while, officers heard the sounds of objects in the house crashing and breaking apart.
Patrolman Lafferty’s affidavit states that Kelly then came out the front door of the home screaming loudly. Lafferty was able to get one handcuff on Kelly before, the affidavit states, he pulled away and began kicking and screaming. The report alleges that when Kelly was put on the ground he started banging his head on the front porch. When two other officers arrived, the picked Kelly up and placed him in the back of a patrol car. The affidavit states that a search of Kelly revealed a can of chewing tobacco and an almost empty bottle of vodka.
Sgt. Matt Benson rode in the back of the police car as Kelly was being transported to the Wabash County Jail. Benson’s Affidavit of Probable Cause states that Kelly laid down in the car with his feet up while yelling at officers. Benson then alleges that, despite being handcuffed, Kelly grabbed his duty belt and would not let go.
As Benson tried to pull Kelly into an upright position so that he would release his hand from the belt, Benson alleges that Kelly reached over and bit him on his left arm just above the wrist. Benson wrote “I yelled and pulled my arm away because I felt teeth on my skin” Later in the affidavit, Benson said that he felt pain as a result of Kelly’s bite, which left a red mark.
Then, Benson’s affidavit states that Kelly began banging his head against the inside of the police car. Patrolman Lafferty’s affidavit states that Kelly had to be put into a restraining chair at the jail. According to the Wabash County Sheriff’s Department, Kelly was on parole at the time of the incident on April 28th. Kelly, who had an initial appearance on the new charges on Monday, is in the Wabash County Jail in lieu of a $10,000 personal appearance bond.