Local News
Fugitive caught in officer-involved shooting
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
-
-
Kokomo church struggles to pay cleanup debt
Pastor Dwight Hobson says he can’t understand why the state of Indiana is insisting on taking the money out of his collection plate.
After all, Hobson says, he is saving the state money by counseling teenagers on Kokomo’s near east side, keeping them away from gangs, drugs and teen pregnancy.
-
GM not changing anything for now
General Motors leaders on Wednesday addressed the company’s business operations and competition to its workers in Kokomo, GM said.
GM spokesman Kevin Nadrowski said company leaders spoke to their Kokomo employees during a routine update meeting. The company told the workers it is "assessing its business model," he said, but he would not further comment on the discussion.
“We’re not making any announcements, and there are no immediate changes to
operation,” he said. -
County council OKs funds for event center repairs
The Howard County Council on Tuesday night approved funding for repairs to the Kokomo Event Center’s roof, which should cost about a third as much as previously estimated.
-
‘Delphi isn’t closing anything’
Delphi Automotive Systems LLC says it will not close any of its operations in Kokomo.
Company spokeswoman Linda Ferries has responded to reports posted this afternoon on Inside INdiana Business’ website. She said the reported information is incorrect. The Indianapolis-based news agency quoted United Auto Workers Region 3 Director Maurice Davison as saying Delphi will phase out its Kokomo operations in 2012.
-
Nude drawings prompt arrest
Two drawings that police say depict a naked underage girl have allegedy landed a Sharpsville man behind bars on two counts of felony possession of child pornography.
-
Korean War veterans honored in Armistice Day event
A handful of Korean veterans stood at attention Tuesday to honor the brave soldiers who didn’t make it home after the three-year war in Southeast Asia.
-
Center Road closed for U.S. 31 work
Center Road is now closed between 150 East and 350 East, due to construction work on the U.S. 31 Kokomo Corridor bypass.
-
Councilman brings up business prospect at meeting
Kokomo Common Councilman Bob Cameron took more than a few people by surprise Monday when he asked area economic development director Jeb Conrad to come to the microphone.
-
Standoff ends in suicide
A Tipton County man allegedly fired a shotgun at a neighboring house late Monday before committing suicide, Howard County Sheriff Marty Talbert reported.
-
Duke Energy cuts power to apartments
Duke Energy Corp. says it had to cut power Tuesday to a Kokomo apartment building that dates back to the Great Depression because of “serious safety hazards.”
- More Local News Headlines
-






