Staff Reports
A suspect in a physical confrontation with Sheriff Matt Myers never was inside the administrative offices and was taken into custody on the stairwell outside the offices.
The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department released more details about the Monday incident after rumors circulated that Justin C. Eddelman, 32, of 918 Lafayette Ave., was able to access the administrative offices. Deputies said Eddelman did not access the administrative offices during the incident.
Deputies said Eddelman entered the lobby of the jail at 10 a.m. Monday and told the front desk staff he planned to commit serious bodily harm to Myers.
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After briefly stopping at the front desk, Eddelman proceeded upstairs to a secure administrative wing. At that time, BCSO front desk staff followed all proper procedures and took appropriate action, deputies said.
At the top of the staircase, the door into BCSO’s administrative offices remained locked and secure, deputies said. Myers communicated with Eddelman through the door window in an attempt to determine if he was armed before the physical confrontation occurred. The “scuffle” occurred when Eddelman attempted to leave the area. It was at that time that Myers opened the door to restrain him, deputies said.
Myers then took Eddelman into custody and placed him in handcuffs before he could return to the downstairs area of the jail, deputies said.
“The sheriff’s goal was to keep him calm, to de-escalate the situation and to keep him at the door until deputies arrived,” said Bartholomew County Sheriff Chief Deputy Maj. Chris Lane.
According to the press release from BCSO, proper procedure was followed by everyone involved and the situation was handled without injury to Eddelman or additional injury to Myers, who hurt his knee during the confrontation.
Myers was treated at the sheriff department and was not taken to the hospital. Eddelman was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for a mental health evaluation before he was returned to the Bartholomew County Jail, deputies said.
Eddelman is being held at the jail in lieu of $21,000 bond for preliminary charges of intimidation on a police officer, resisting arrest, battery on a police officer and disorderly conduct.
Court records show Eddelman is currently on probation from a 2019 case in which he pleaded guilty on Dec. 30 in Bartholomew Circuit Court to battery by bodily waste against a public safety official. In exchange for that plea, charges of resisting law enforcement and public intoxication were dismissed. In that case, Eddelman was sentenced to one year in the county jail, which was suspended, and fined $995 and ordered to remain on probation while the suspended jail sentence continued.
