Derick Harris
A southeast Bartholomew County resident accused of inflicting serious injuries on a woman held a standoff with law enforcement Thursday night.
Derick Harris, 42, of 2950 S. Lake Dr. is facing preliminary charges of domestic battery with serious bodily injury, strangulation and resisting law enforcement. The office of Bartholomew County Prosecutor Lindsey Holden-Kay will determine what, if any, formal charges will be filed.
At 9:20 p.m. Thursday, a Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputy was sent to Columbus Regional Hospital’s emergency room to investigate what hospital officials believes was a domestic battery victim seeking treatment.
An examination indicates the woman suffered significant injuries to her head, arms and neck area, according to Sgt. Dane Duke, a spokesman for Bartholomew County Sheriff Chris Lane. While not identifying the victim nor describing her condition, Duke wrote in a press release that Deputy Conner Harris learned Harris was the suspect in the battery.
When a number of law enforcement officers turned up at Harris’ farmhouse west of Burnsville, deputies were able to briefly speak with the suspect through an exterior door, Duke stated. However, Harris refused to come outside the residence nor allow deputies inside, a news release stated.
According to Duke’s news release, several attempts to re-establish communication with Harris were unsuccessful, including over the phone, after he cut off all communications. Investigators soon learned that several firearms were inside the farmhouse. In response, the officers established a perimeter around the farmhouse and requested a search warrant, the sheriff’s spokesman wrote.
After drones were utilized by the deputies to locate Harris inside his residence, the Columbus SWAT Team arrived and made entry into the residence to take Harris into custody without incident, Duke stated.
After Harris was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for an evaluation, he was transported downtown and booked into the Bartholomew County Jail. Records state he has been ordered to remain in custody on a 48-hour hold.
This was not the suspect’s first encounter with law enforcement. On Oct. 31, 2022, Harris plead guilty in a plea agreement to obstruction of justice as a Level 6 felony and a misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance. While his two-year sentence was suspended, Harris’ probation contained a number of strict conditions.
He was also charged with possession of methamphetamine in 2017, but the felony charge was eventually dropped by the state.
In 2011, Harris was charged twice with both manufacturing and possession of methamphetamine. All but six months of his two-and-a-half year sentence was suspended.
