Evansville Press from Evansville, Indiana • 13

Friday Augwt 25 1995 17 In this section 18 Lifestyles 21 Films 22 Money City firefighter cleared of drug charge Acquittal ends long suspension By Dan Armstrong and Jim Woehrte bun comment on the judge's decision the United States we deal with a judicial system and when a sting raponara decision is made the way it Wilcox said is not my position to second-guess a judge or the At the trial mother Ina Rae Layne of Newburgh testified the car he was driving and the marijuana were hers Canada said The merit commission initially suspended Ward without pay as Wilcox recommended but later restored his pay up to the trial Canada said he thought the commission had acted prudently believed lie was innocent until proven he said union and the utmost faith in our legal system" Ward was suspended after city police found a small amount of marijuana in the car he was driving on Jan 21 Canada said Williams did not explain the acquittal She had taken the case under advisement after trial two weeks ago Ward said he was suspended for six months including three months without pay was quite a said Ward support my mother and that made it really hard on Fire Chief Doug Wilcox who had recommended that the Fire Merit Commission fire Ward stood by his action this morning When a firefighter is charged with a crime the chief is obligated to deal with it Wilcox said I were to ignore something like that I sure would not hold my position very long" he said Wilcox said he is glad the matter has come to a finish and Ward will be treated no differently from any other firefighter He said it was not his place to City firefighter Gary Ward has been cleared of a drug charge that threatened his job Robert Canada attorney said Vanderburgh Superior Court Magistrate Barbara Williams yesterday afternoon found Ward innocent of a misdemeanor charge of possessing less than 30 grams of uana really glad to be back to work" Ward said this morning from Hose House 8 where he reported for duty at 7 am had the full support of the Molestation cases draw 8-year term By Mark Stalcup and Jim Woehrte Olli suit reporter results in three arrests An Evansville man and his son and daughter accused of running a prostitution service out of their home were arrested this morning police said David Joe Hyatt 42 Terry Lyn Higgs 24 and Billy Joe Higgs 21 all of 2216 Michigan St each were arrested on two counts of promoting prostitution They remained jailed this morning each with a bond of $20000 Last night two undercover detectives from the Evansville Police Department's organised crime unit contacted the Sweetheart Escort Service and asked if escorts could visit them at local hotels At around 8 pm a woman allegedly called one of the detectives at a hotel and told him the service" would cost $150 When she visited him at the hotel room she told him she would charge him $150 for sexual intercourse according to the probable-cause affidavit Shortly before 9 pm another detective at another hotel was visited by a woman who said she was from the escort service and offered to perform oral sex for $180 The women told police they worked for the Sweetheart Escort Service which lines up prostitutes for clients They said after visiting clients theypay $50 of each fee to the escort service The women told police the service is located at 2216 Michigan Ave The officers followed the women to the escort service where they allegedly paid David Hyatt and Terry Higgs $150 for visits to the two policemen and one other client Police obtained a search warrant for 2216 Michigan Ave and found a list of clients files on 21 escorts including personal data and photos marked money the detectives gave the women and other information Infant hurt in car-van crash A 3-month-old baby was in serious condition after a two-vehicle East Side accident Evansville police said an automobile driven by Sylvia Kessinger 19 of 1900 Madison Ave going north on Lodge Avenue ran the stop sign at Bellemeade Avenue and was struck by a westbound van driven by Melissa Pennell 43 of 2815 Weinbach Ave at about 7:45 am yesterday Kessinger's car overturned and came to rest in a driveway on South Willow Road police said van flipped on its side and came to rest against a utility pole A passenger in Kessinger's car Phorest Birch 3 months old also of 1900 Madison Ave was listed in serious condition early today at St Medical Center Kessinger was listed in fair condition Police detective suspended An Evansville Police detective has been suspended without pay by Police Chief Art Gann Gann confirmed this morning that detective Jim Kelley was suspended but the chief would not explain why Gann said he could not comment until the Police Merit Commission acts on the matter at next meeting Cave vandalism brings charges Press photo by Jolm Dunham Trent Lyndley Jim Abeshaus and Lincoln Simmons ponder moving because of overcrowded USI housing Efoom for one more? Some USI students get extra roommates in housing crunch By Patricia Swanaon Staff reporter An Evansville man who admitted molesting two boys was sentenced to eight years in prison this morning after facing angry parents who condemned his abuse of trust David Haerle 34 of 4948 Tippecanoe Drive pleaded to two counts of Class child molestation June 15 In exchange for the plea prosecutors dismissed five counts of class felony child molestation and a misdemeanor charge of possessing child pornography One of the victims was a boy he met through the Big Brothers and Sisters of Evansville program Haerle admitted fondling the two boys aged 11 and 9 between February and May 1994 However evidence that he had also shown the children nude photographs of adults and children downloaded from America Online was not admitted due to the dismissal of the child pornography charge The plea also left prosecutors and defendants sparring over an appropriate sentence for Haerle Prosecutors sought a 16-year sentence eight years for each victim to run consecutively while defense attorney Steve Owens sought four years on probation if Haerle continues counseling Instead Vanderburgh Circuit Court Judge Richard Young ordered Haerle to serve two eight-year terms concurrently conduct will undoubta-bly have a lasting effect on the children It was a quite extensive and bold form of molestation" Young said very disappointed considering Mr Haerle's background and his lack of a criminal Owens said after the verdict was handed down was greater than I would have liked to see The mothers of both of victims took the stand each urging that Haerle receive counseling Each woman spoke of needing a father figure for her son a role Haerle seemed to fill son) wanted a father" one said did not have a regular father like him to see the maximum sentence and get the mother of said needs treatment He's a sick man Not only did he molest one child he molested two" the situation better than parents think this is Kevin Akers said Other parents had gone to the housing office complaining about the fifth student in the room Students who have been put in the five-student units are being given an initial $100 rebate on their $900 rent this semester If there still are five people in an apartment after Oct 1 they each will receive another $100 Greg Myers director of student housing said he had many people talking to him but it appears that parents have been more vocal than students about complaining The university he said not seriously concerned about the situation at this point Obviously we want this to be a long-term The university has room for 1510 to 1520 students including the 64-student unit that opened this month Two to three more units each holding 64 students are expected to be built next summer should demand continue as it has He said about 80 apartments will contain five students when school begins Monday if everybody shows up this weekend Five or six students have been temporarily housed at the Executive Inn Universities often accept more students than they have space for Myers said Many students show up and others drop out after the first few weeks here at the same The apartment two bedrooms a living-dining room small kitchen and bath was a factor in decision to come to USI She and Akers both are Presidential Scholars Indiana high school valedictorians and salutatorians who get a full-ride scholarship to USI Bowling said Indiana and Ball State universities also offered her good scholarships here I can cook And better to share a bath with only three or four people than with a whole floor (as in a Ann Hardwick of Washington Ind helping her son Ryan move in said she was not pleased about the situation we have talked to them (housing) and getting straightened Ryan a freshman said he was Irritated because turned in our room (requests) first We sent in our money and did everything we were supposed to" and then the university allowed an exchange student to move into the room Ryan was particularly unhappy that the student had staked out a bed in a room he had planned to occupy Working with housing officials the other student was persuaded to move into the top bunk in the other bedroom awful said fellow Washington resident Jake Durnel who also has been placed in a five-student apartment they say it will only be until October at Students seemed to be handling Many University of Southern Indiana freshmen moving into their student apartments this week are finding something extra when they move in: Another bed and another roommate Eighty of the four-student units have been temporarily converted into five-student units because of a shortage of rooms USI officials say They hope to have the situation resolved within a month or so but in the meantime a few students and quite a few parents are com- Students were notified last week that they might have an extra roommate Instead of four twin beds two in each bedroom students arriving this week find two twin beds in one bedroom and one twin and a double-deck bunk bed in the other Many of than are taking the change in stride Freshman Kara Akers of Borden Ind lounging on the bottom bunk in one of the bedrooms in her apartment said will be all right I think I have five in our own family and I think I can learn to live with four others if not think about how much bigger our house is" her father Kevin Akers muttered One of her roommates Shannon Bowling of Indianapolis said having five students in the apartment OK with me all be on different schedules not all going to be MAMMOTH CAVE Ky A federal grand juiy has indicted three men on charges they vandalised and stole rock formations from Mammoth Cave National Park Anthony Wayne Hawkins 33 of Radcliff is charged with conspiracy and destruction of government property Two Munfordville men Wendell Leon Reynolds 18 and Anthony Dale Stinson 23 face the same charges plus an additional charge of theft of government property The indictments returned Wednesday in Louisville allege that on six occasions from April 13 to June 8 the three worked together to steal formations inside Crystal Cave which is within the national park They allegedly used a baseball bat and other tools to knock down helactites gypsum crystals travertine and other formations and sold them to people in Barren County If convicted Hawkins faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison a $500000 fine and three years of supervised release Reynolds and Stinson each face 35 years imprisonment a $750000 fine and three years of supervised release SgfAsk'iTh? Press Historic Downtown buildings Appeals court accepts case By Mark Stalcup MS bum rtpomr What Is the closest store carrying French Toast brand children's clothing? CH Evansville A Wal-Mart and Kmart locally both have some French Toast and FTNY clothes In sizes Do you haw a general-Menst question tor which you cant And an answer? Jutf send your quartans to Ask The Praia PO Box 454 EvansvNs bid 47705-0454 Readers wbh touch-tona phones can cal 422-1234 and leave theb questions on extension ISOS Questions wM only be answered in this column ball next week tural firm which also designed Willard Library Dating to 1886 the Daescher Building at 12 SE Second Street has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982 Built for Christian Daescher it was operated as a candy manufacturing business until his death in 1897 The Kleiderer Brothers operated a clothes cleaning establishment there until 1970 Henry Day a tailor occupied the building during the 1970s Marchand noted that just because a building is listed on the Historic Register does not mean it a protected from demolition meet wrecking Downtown Evansville will lose another bit of its architectural history next week when a group of commercial structures at Second and Locust Streets is razed to make way for National City $12 million expansion The buildings known as the "Masonic most recently housed Cleaners Emge's Deli in the Alley Risley's Art Gallery Evansville Abstract and Title Co and others According to information compiled by Joan Marchand historic preservation officer the buildings in this block date to the the mid-1880s They were designed by Reid Bros architec- Danks reading from the Appeals Court response said that the court found are substantial questions of law an early determination of which might provide a more orderly disposition of this Sandefur was charged in June 1994 with maintaining a common nuisance and marijuana possession following a raid on his home mat spring Additional felony charges of dealing marijuana and conspiracy to deal marijuana were filed in March Prosecutors have already won a Jan 13 civil forfeiture case winning $1500 of the $2569 they sought from Sandefur in connection with the still-pending June 1994 charges But while Danks said both the June 1994 aid March 1995 charges stem from the same set of facts prosecutors contend the 1995 charges stem from drug buys made before the 1994 raid Danks has also argued that the forfei-tid-e constitutes significant punishment The Indiana 1st District Court of Appeals could consider an Evansville man's motion to dismiss drug charges based on his claims of double jeopardy as early as November Vanderburgh Circuit Court Judge Richard Young ruled July 6 against dismissing pending charges against Tommy Sandefur despite defense attorney Michael contention the charges constitute double jeopardy the unconstitutional trying of the same person twice on one allegation of criminal acts Now the Appeals Court has agreed to consider that ruling absolutely pleased" Danks said very rare that a court of appeals will allow an interlocutory appeal Usually they will say that you have some interesting points out go ahead and try the case and then go through the normal appeals If you have a news tip a question or a comment on local news coverage please call 812-422-1234 and leave a message on extension 1502 A touch-tone phone is required.