April 11--BEREA -- Former Berea city council member Troy VanWinkle, 35, of Central Avenue has a court date May 4 after an incident that allegedly endangered a Berea Police officer.
Around 2:30 a.m. on April 1, Lt. Jason Hays was busy detaining an individual in his cruiser when Vanwinkle and his spouse entered the police department parking lot in two separate vehicles engaged in what police described as a "rolling domestic."
The couple had been "arguing and fighting" and Vanwinkle's wife probably knew that coming to the police department would be a way to defuse the situation, said Berea Police Chief David Gregory.
The two positioned their vehicles on either side of the police cruiser when the officer saw, what appeared to him to be, an open container of alcohol in Troy VanWinkle's vehicle, Gregory said.
"The officer was not positive if he had seen an open container of alcohol," the chief said, "this happened in a matter of seconds."
VanWinkle denied that he had been drinking when Hays questioned him, according to Gregory.
Hays reportedly asked VanWinkle to exit his vehicle, but instead of complying with the officer, he restarted his truck, the police report stated.
When Hays realized VanWinkle intended to leave, he reached inside the vehicle and grabbed the driver's arm, but drove away "at a very high rate of speed" with Hays clinging to his arm, Gregory said.
VanWinkle turned left onto Chestnut Street while "the officer was still trying to hold on and was yelling for him to stop," according to the police report.
The officer let go of VanWinkle's arm because he was "afraid of being run over," Gregory said.
Hays did not follow because police department policy prohibits beginning a pursuit while detaining another subject, Gregory said.
The officer knew VanWinkle and did not believe it was necessary to chase him on Chestnut Street, which cuts through Berea College's campus, the chief said.
"There is no sense in putting someone else in harm's way," Gregory said, "you have to weigh the risk in each situation."
Other officers were dispatched to locate VanWinkle but were unsuccessful, the report states.
Because Hays already knew the subject, he filed paperwork with the county attorney and a criminal summons was issued.
VanWinkle was served and is facing first-degree wanton endangerment and first-degree fleeing and evading police (both Class D felonies).
Drug arrest
On Friday, police received a complaint of a fight on Blackberry Lane.
When the officer arrived on scene he found James Joseph Isaacs, 27, of Ridgewood Drive with "slurred speech and unsteady on his feet," according to the report.
A witness reported seeing Isaacs throwing a "purple baggie" into the brush in front of his residence, Gregory said.
The officer located the "baggie" which contained 66 grams of a substance police suspect is cocaine a bottle containing 18.5 white round tablets suspected to be methadone, 36 oblong tablets suspected to be methadone and half a gram of marijuana, the chief said.
Isaacs is charged with two counts of first-degree trafficking (first offense) in a controlled substance, possession of marijuana and public intoxication on a controlled substance.
He was lodged in the Madison County Detention Center in lieu of a $5,000 cash bond, according to the jail's website.
VanWinkle served on the Berea City Council for two years, 2009-11.
Business thefts
--Berea Walmart reported that an iPad 2 (valued at $400) was stolen from the store by two white females and two white males, according to employees.
After a review of security tapes, police observed the suspects entering the Walmart parking lot in a dark-colored PT Cruiser.
Surveillance photos of the suspects can be viewed on the Berea Police Department and Richmond Register Facebook pages.
--Police charged Tabitha Alexander, 32, of Baldwin Street with theft by unlawful taking after surveillance cameras caught her leaving Adventure Pets on Prince Royal Drive with a dog she did not pay for.
Alexander is shown entering the store, removing a Chihuahua from its cage, placing the dog in a backpack and walking out of the store without paying for the dog (valued at $600), according to the police report.
The canine was recovered and returned to Adventure Pets, Gregory said.
Alexander was arrested April 3 and booked at the detention center from which she was released later that day, according to the jail's website.
Theft from automobile
The owner of a Frito Lay truck reported to police that someone stole around $1,500 worth of food items from the vehicle during the night while the truck was parked on Paint Lick Road.
The suspect had gained access to the truck by cutting the seal from around the passenger side window, pushing the window out and opening the passenger side door, according to the police report.
Residential thefts
--A residence in the 100 block of High Street told police April 4 two ladders and a stringtrimmer had been stolen from her garage. The estimated loss is $500.
--On April 3, a resident in the 400 block of Center Street reported her house had been broken into. Entry was gained by removing a rear window screen and forcing the window open. An engagement ring and an old coin valued at around $3,000 were stolen.
-- A red Troy-Bilt 6000-watt generator was taken from a porch in the 400 block of White Station Road. The victim reported the generator was stolen on April 3 during the day. The estimated loss is $800.
Crystal Wylie can be reached at [email protected] or 623-1669, Ext. 6696.
Copyright 2012 - Richmond Register, Ky.
