Ross
SEYMOUR — A Jennings County man who recently pleaded guilty to leaving an unresponsive female at a Seymour park in June 2022 was sentenced to nine years in prison in Jackson Circuit Court.
Warren Scott Ross, 31, of Commiskey received that term from Jackson Circuit Court Judge Richard W. Poynter during a sentencing hearing Thursday afternoon.
Poynter suspended five years of the sentence and gave Ross 393 days of credit time. He also will spend two years on probation, and if he is arrested during that time, Ross will have to serve the five years that were suspended.
Ross was arrested June 9, 2022, as part of an investigation into an unresponsive female left alone earlier in the week at a park on Seymour’s south side, according to police reports.
Ross was initially booked into the Jackson County Jail on a Level 3 felony charge of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious injury and a Class B misdemeanor charge of criminal recklessness. That charge was dismissed as part of the plea agreement filed June 29.
In Indiana, a Level 3 felony carries a potential prison sentence of three to 16 years with an advisory sentence of nine years upon conviction. The advisory sentence is nine years.
Ross, who did not speak during the hearing except to answer questions from Poynter, was represented by Jackson County Chief Public Defender Alan Marshall.
In asking Poynter to approve the plea deal, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Mark Hollingsworth said if not for the actions of Seymour Police Department Officer Gabe Jordan, Ross would be facing a lot more serious charges.
“Give him this sentence because he deserves it,” Hollingsworth said.
Poynter told Ross he hoped he learned something from the experience.
The incident that led to Ross’ arrest began on the evening of June 6, 2022, when Jordan was on a routine patrol and found an unconscious female in the grass at Freeman Field Recreational Complex, according to a news release from Lt. C.J. Foster. Several pieces of luggage also were found in the area.
Jordan reported the woman exhibited symptoms of a drug overdose, so he called for support from Jackson County Emergency Medical Services. He also administered two doses of Narcan and used a bag valve mask to assist the female with breathing.
Additional doses of Narcan were administered to the female by emergency medical personnel, and she was then taken to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour for additional treatment, Foster said.
She was then released from the hospital after regaining consciousness and recovering from the opioid overdose, police said.
The female also told police she didn’t remember how she got to Freeman Field and had been traveling from house to house with strangers due to her struggles with addiction, Foster said.
At that time, police asked the public for assistance in identifying a white male in a black cutoff shirt who was driving a red hatchback passenger car in the area where the woman was found, Foster said. That description came from video surveillance equipment.
On June 9, Seymour police located the suspect vehicle on County Road 650W in Jennings County after following multiple leads, Foster said.
Police then obtained a Jackson Superior Court I search warrant for the vehicle and another search warrant from the same court for a residence on County Road 650W in Jennings County to search for evidence related to the incident.
Jennings County police, who assisted with the investigation, were able to find more than 20 grams of fentanyl, prescription medication, an undisclosed amount of money and drug paraphernalia during the search of the residence.
Ross was taken into custody and interviewed by Seymour police.
Foster said Ross told investigators the woman wanted to go to Freeman Field Recreational Complex, and once there, she became unresponsive.
In response, Ross said he panicked, removed the woman from the vehicle and drove off, Foster said.
A second man, Darrell Little, 21, of Commiskey, also was found at the residence and arrested by Jennings County officers on a charge of possession of fentanyl. Little also was wanted on an active warrant outside of Jennings County, Foster said.
Charges will be filed in Jennings County for the evidence collected at the Commiskey residence, he said.
