The same day Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana profiled Archie Robertson, indicating local law enforcement officers were looking for him as a suspected methamphetamine dealer, Robertson turned up.
Just before noon Thursday, Kokomo Police Detective James Nielson saw Robertson driving in a gray pickup truck in the area of Wabash and Woodland avenues and tried to stop him.
As Nielson turned his vehicle around, Robertson stopped and backed up, ramming Nielson’s vehicle, Lt. Don Whitehead reported.
Nielson, a seven-year veteran officer, then fired “at least two shots” in an attempt to stop Robertson, Whitehead said in a press release.
Robertson then sped off south bound without returning fire and led responding officers on a brief chase before bailing out of the truck a few blocks away and running on foot.
A few minutes later, officers spotted Robertson in the 700 block of South Webster Street. Robertson refused commands of the officers and was physically taken into custody.
Officers found drugs and drug paraphernalia on Robertson when he was arrested. Two handguns were also found on the seat of his truck, Capt. Brian Thompson said.
Robertson is currently being held in the Howard County Jail and will face additional charges as the result of the shooting.
The shooting also prompted an internal investigation, which is procedure in an officer-related shooting, Thompson added.
No one was injured in the incident, but residents in the area were concerned.
“I was watching TV and heard tires squealing,” Brian Jameson said of the shooting in front of his house on Wabash Avenue.
“When I looked out, I saw a truck ram the black car and then the driver of the black car got out and fired three shots at the truck. I have an 8-month-old son and 3-year-old daughter inside the house. ... I was flipping out. It was crazy.”
Jameson also said Robertson’s gray truck had been in the area for a while.
“I’ve been here about a year and I’ve seen that same truck drive by about 10 times recently,” Jameson said.
Robertson was wanted on several warrants from Howard and Tipton counties and profiled on the Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana as a wanted fugitive. His profile appeared in Thursday’s Kokomo Tribune.
Whitehead also said Robertson has a lengthy criminal history including weapons charges and counterfeiting, and he has also allegedly made threats toward any officer who attempted to take him into custody.
According to Howard Count jail officials, Robertson has been booked into the jail 29 times since the 1990s. He also served time in a federal prison for counterfeiting and was released on federal parole in 2008.
• Mike Fletcher is the Kokomo Tribune crime reporter. He can be reached at 765-454-8565 or mike.fletcher@kokomotribune.com.
Local News
Fugitive caught in officer-involved shooting
- Local News
-
-
Remains may be grandmother of abducted girl
Noblesville police are trying to determine if the remains of a woman found Thursday along the Mississinewa River near Marion are those of missing Noblesville woman Dorothy Heard.
-
Students kick off Black History Month at IU Kokomo
“Hey, black child, be what you can be. Learn what you can learn. Do what you can do. And tomorrow, your nation will be what you want it to be.”
-
Council taking heat for proposal
The Miami County Council on Thursday got to hear from county employees who are disgruntled about proposed budget cuts that would reduce the county general fund by nearly $900,000.
-
County looks at health care options
With the city of Kokomo ending its relationship with Novia Health Care, Howard County officials are now discussing what move they will make.
-
KHS to implement new technology program
Starting next school year, the more than 500 freshmen enrolled at Kokomo High School will receive either a laptop computer or tablet device as part of a new technology program that school officials say will improve learning in the classroom.
-
Measles patient was at NFL event
East Coast fans who left the Super Bowl host city feeling good about Hoosier hospitality may have been exposed to something less welcome: The measles.
-
Outreach provides housing to the down-and-out
Dale Bliss tells the story of a man with no money, no job and two kids.
Without any way to pay for a hotel or rent an apartment, the man was living in a tent with his children at a reservoir near Kokomo. He told them it was a family camping trip.
-
Green tech lab opens in Kokomo
A California green technology company has opened a research and development lab in Kokomo and plans to hire as many as 35 people over the next few years, the business announced this week.
-
Main Street conference coming to Kokomo
Following up on its Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s 2011 Community of the Year award, Kokomo received another accolade this week.
-
Howard Co. jail reconfiguration a ‘short-term solution’
With the ever-increasing number of female prisoners at the Howard County jail, local officials are looking to implement a short-term solution instead of expanding the existing facility.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Remains may be grandmother of abducted girl
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
