COLUMBUS, Ind. — A man accused of residential entry at a residence in the county claimed to be Jesus and is accused of attempting to disarm a deputy before he was taken into custody.
Bartholomew County sheriff deputies were sent to a home at 8800 block of North County Road 600E at 10:07 a.m. Sunday about a possible residential entry, deputies said.
Before deputies arrived, the homeowner arrived at the home and found a red truck in his driveway and a man exiting the home, deputies said. The man told the homeowner he was “Jesus” and that the home belonged to him.
When the deputies arrived, the suspect told them he was “Jesus.” As they attempted to detain the man, who was later identified as Tony E. Fultz, 40, no address available, Fultz attempted to get into his truck, where he and Arnholt scuffled.
As Arnholt was attempting to detain Fultz, Fultz started the vehicle and attempted to begin driving away, but Arnholt turned off the vehicle and used an electronic stun gun on Fultz.
At that point, deputies said Fultz attempted to grab Arnholt’s handgun from his holster but Arnholt was able to retain possession of the weapon and tased Fultz again, which incapacitated him.
Fultz was arrested on preliminary charges of residential entry, resisting law enforcement and disarming a law enforcement officer. He was being held in jail in lieu of $15,000 bond, jail officials said.
Deputy Jon Lanning and Nick Martoccia assisted at the scene, along with Columbus Police Department officers.
“We are very fortunate this incident ended the way that it did,” said Sheriff Matt Myers. “This is representative of the types of calls we have been going on where people are aggressively resisting law enforcement. We are lucky we didn’t get a deputy killed today.”
Myers said this type of case is why it is so important to have the proper manpower on the street to deal with individuals who are having mental health issues.
“Now is not the time to defund or lower the manpower we have on the streets,” he said.
For more on this story, see Monday’s Republic.
