Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
In an unusual turn of events Tuesday afternoon in Kosciusko Circuit Court, one man was arrested after a witness in the Hale trial said he was threatened.
Dustin Allen Sloan, 22, of Etna Green, was escorted from the courtroom in handcuffs during a short recess Tuesday afternoon.
One of the confidential informants took the stand and testified that Sloan threatened him before the trial started Tuesday morning.
While on the stand, the witness said, "(Sloan) called me this morning and told me if I testified he would wait for me and kick my a**."
After the witness left the stand, Judge Rex Reed sent the 12-person jury out of the courtroom for a recess and asked that Sloan be "escorted to a safe place away from the courtroom and arrested."
"You are arresting me for nothing?" Sloan said as handcuffs were placed around his wrists.
Reed replied that testimony under oath and evidence in open court formed the basis for formal charges.
Sloan was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 3:16 p.m. on one count of intimidation and one count of obstruction of justice and tampering with a witness. His bond was set at $2,000.
