COLUMBIA CITY – The teenager who escaped from Pierceton Woods Academy Detention Center in December and shot a Whitley County man in an attempted carjacking was sentenced recently. Dakota Kimbler, 18, Rome City, was sentenced by Whitley County Circuit Court Judge Jim Heuer Nov. 4 on five charges. For the attempted murder charge, Kimbler was sentenced to 30 years, with 25 years to serve and five suspended. He will serve 10 years for attempted carjacking, concurrent to the attempted murder charge. Kimbler also will concurrently serve 1-1/2 years for possession of stolen property and one year for carrying a handgun without a license. Upon release, he will be put on probation. He was given 330 days jail time credit, and ordered to pay $168 in court costs. On Dec. 8, Kimbler, then 17 years old, escaped from the juvenile detention facility in Pierceton. On Dec. 9 shortly after 7 a.m., Whitley County Sheriff’s Department dispatchers received a call from an individual, later identified as Johnny Couch, reporting he had been carjacked and shot and he was holding the alleged shooter at gunpoint. Officers from the WCSD and the Indiana State Police responded to the area near the intersection of Ind. 5 and Old Trail Road, Larwill, and discovered Couch and the assailant, later identified as Kimbler. Couch was taken to a hospital for medical attention and Kimbler was taken into police custody. A handgun was recovered at the scene. A Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department officer took a theft report at about 5:47 p.m. Dec. 9 from Roswell A. Clemens, 27, Warsaw, who had seen the media story about the shooting incident. Clemens works at the same location as the shooting victim, Paragon Medical, Pierceton. After Clemens saw the story, he found that his black Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .380 handgun was missing from the center console of his 2010 Jeep Wrangler. Clemens had left his vehicle unlocked while at work. Upon discovering his handgun missing, Clemens contacted the KCSD. During a later interview at the hospital, Couch told officers he finished a shift at Paragon Medical at 7 p.m. and got into his car in the parking lot of the facility and drove toward his home. At some point after entering Whitley County, Couch became aware that there was someone in the back seat and turned to confront the person. At that time, Couch was shot in the chest by Kimbler. Despite being shot, Couch was able to wrestle the gun away from Kimbler and hold him at gunpoint while he called for police help and waited for their arrival. In a filing July 8, Couch sued Lifeline Youth and Family Services Inc., which operates Pierceton Woods. His suit alleged that Lifeline had Kimbler in detention at the Academy Dec. 8 and had knowledge of Kimbler’s written plan for an escape involving a gun and a car. Pierceton Woods also was accused of failing to exercise proper control during Kimbler’s escape, and that it gave no warning of the escape to Paragon Medical, despite advanced knowledge of Kimbler’s intent to escape. The filing alleged that Lifeline was negligent for not properly supervising Kimbler, nor exercising additional supervision and warning Paragon Medical. As a result of the negligence, Couch allegedly suffered severe traumatic physical injury, some of which may be permanent; severe psychological damage; post-traumatic stress injury; medical expenses; and pain and suffering, past, present and future. The plaintiff asked for damages in an amount sufficient to compensate him for his injuries, for cost of the lawsuit and all other relief proper in the premises.
