Zablin “Jai” Woodruff
Court dates for a suspect accused of kidnapping, assault and robbery at a local barn in 2023 were moved back by Bartholomew Superior Court 1 Judge Jim Worton after the defendant requested a continuance.
A change of plea hearing for Zablin “Jai” Woodruff, 20, of 238 N. Hughes St., is now scheduled for Oct. 6 at 11 a.m., rescheduled from Monday. Woodruff’s new trial date is set for 8:30 a.m. Nov. 4.
Woodruff was one of four suspects accused of assaulting a male 19-year-old victim at a barn in Bartholomew County on June 2, 2023. According to investigators, the victim was driven under false pretenses to a barn on Bonnell Road. A probable cause affidavit states the victim was grabbed by the neck before he was punched in the face.
The other suspects in the case included Charles A. Breedlove, 19, of 2017 14th St., who accepted a plea bargain in 2024, entering a guilty plea to robbery resulting in serious bodily injury as a Level 2 felony. In exchange, prosecutors dropped Level 3 felony charges of kidnapping, criminal confinement and aggravated battery. Worton said that since he entered a judgement of conviction against Breedlove, he was legally bound to cap the time served in prison at 10 years.
But at the request of Bartholomew County Prosecutor Lindsey Holden-Kay, the judge added a additional 10 years to the sentence. Upon his release from the Indiana Department of Correction, Breedlove will spend five years in a community corrections program, and the remaining five on conventional probation, Worton said.
In addition, Breedlove has agreed to pay restitution to the victim.
The other co-defendants are Woodruff, Emily Franklin, 20, of Commiskey, who was accused of taking the victim to the barn, and Ashton Fields, 18 of 762 Clifty Drive-C. Originally, all four were charged with kidnapping, criminal confinement and aggravated battery. Any defendant convicted on all four counts could face between 19 and 78 years in prison, as well as up to $40,000 in fines.
Franklin has also accepted a plea deal in her case that calls for her to plead guilty to a lesser charge of assisting a criminal as a Level 5 felony. In exchange, all four original charges are to be dropped. In the agreement, prosecutors agreed the Jennings County native would not serve more than four years in prison. Should Worton hand down a longer sentence, the agreement calls for the additional time to be spent on probation.
But Franklin must agree to testify truthfully about co-defendants Charles A. Breedlove, 19, of 2017 14th St.; Ashton Fields, 19, of 762 Clifty Drive-C; and Zablin “Jai” Woodruff, 19, of 238 N. Hughes St.
If Franklin honors those terms and continues to display good behavior, Worton said he would consider dropping the felony charge down to a Level 6 felony. Not only would that lower the sentencing range to between six months and two-and-a-half years, but she could serve that time in the Bartholomew County Jail, rather than in a state prison. Her sentencing is set for 2 p.m. Aug. 12 in Bartholomew Superior Court 1.
Fields was offered nearly identical terms in the plea bargain he accepted last year. Franklin briefly lived with Fields before they were arrested. According to court documents, Fields is scheduled to be sentanced at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 12 in Bartholomew Superior Court 1.
Investigators wrote that Breedlove and Woodruff took turns with a knife attempting to cut the victim before Breedlove brandished a pistol from his waistband and pistol-whipped the victim, court documents state.
Breedlove pointed a pistol at the victim’s head multiple times and said, “I’m going to blow your head off,” “these are your last minutes on earth” and “this is it,” the court affidavit states.
The victim told investigators Woodruff held him down while Breedlove cut off his hair and cut the skin covering his throat with a pair of scissors, the affidavit states. He later had a liquid thrown on his face that burned his faces and eyes, the police report states. Woodruff and Breedlove unsuccessfully attempted to break some of the victim’s fingers.
After taking the victim’s sweatshirt, shoes and iPhone, the defendants left the barn. The victim went to four different homes for help before he found himself at the residence of Indiana State Police Trooper Rick Roseberry, who called for emergency medical assistance.
