Vol. 38, No. 53
PO Box 603, Wabash, IN 46992 (260) 563-8326
of Wabash County Inc. March 9, 2016
www.thepaperofwabash.com Proudly Serving Wabash County Since 1977
Drug arrest has ties to recent death Court records: Huntington man had contact with Hovey moments before her death By Emma Rausch emma@thepaperofwabash.com
The arrest of a Huntington man on Thursday, March 3, may have ties to the Feb. 23 death of a Wabash woman. The man, Brandon R. L. Goins, 30, was arrested on a Huntington County warrant charging possession of methamphetamine, possession of a schedule I, II, III or IV controlled substance and operating a motor vehicle with a schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite in a person’s body, according to a news release from the North Manchester Police Department. Goins was also preliminarily charged with possession of
paraphernalia and possession of a syringe. According to a probable cause affidavit filed with the Wabash Circuit Court, NMPD officers served an arrest warrant on Goins at a residence in the 100 block of North River Road. The residence is leased by Alicia M. Combs, 28, North Manchester. According to the court documents, Officer Matt Galligan had witnessed Goin enter the residence earlier in the day. Officers attempted to serve the warrant by knocking on the residence door, announcing their presence and asking Goins to come to the door, according to the affidavit. When he did not comply, officers forced entry
into the residence and ordered Goins to the ground, the documents continued. Goins was taken into custody without further incident. Upon Goins’ removal from the residence, officers began speaking to Combs. Galligan read her her Miranda warning and she was preliminarily charged with assisting a criminal, possession of paraphernalia and possession of a syringe. Combs informed the officers that Goins had been staying with her since January, according to the court documents. Officers then advised Combs that Goins is a known drug user and drug dealer. “Alicia was advised that Brandon is suspected of selling
ArtsFest to be better than ever, artistic director says
BRANDON GOINS
ALICIA M. COMBS
suspected heroin to Kandi (Brandt) Hovey prior to her overdose,” Officer Matt Shrider stated in the probable cause affidavit. “Alicia was advised we knew this from phone records a phone number … Through our investigation we found this
phone number to be used by Brandon Goins.” “During our investigation of the death of Kandi (Brandt) Hovey we found text messages between her phone and Goins’
Veterans’ Town Hall meeting set March 18 By Joseph Slacian jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com
By Joseph Slacian jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com The 2016 ArtsFest – formerly the Charley Creek ArtsFest – will be bigger and better than ever, Artistic Director Ranaan Meyer told The Paper of Wabash County. Meyer, who also is the double bassist in the string trio Time for Three, was in Wabash last week promoting the festival in schools, with civic organizations and at other locations around Wabash. “I think it’s going to be leaps and bounds to what it was,” Meyer said of the festival. “Kristen Chenoweth is a bridge artist who is super famous.” Chenoweth, who won a Tony Award for her role in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” will perform June 26 at the Honeywell Center’s Ford Theater. “I’m really psyched because I know people are going to want to come to the show,” Meyer said. “They’re going to want to see it. It’s going to be part of ArtsFest and will close the whole thing down, and I think it’s really going to (continued on page 5)
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LAKETON – A Veterans Town Hall Meeting is planned for 11 a.m. Friday, March 18, at the Laketon American Legion Post No.402. The event is hosted by the Indianapolis VA Regional Office, the Northern Indiana Health Care System and the National Cemetery Administration Midwest District Office. During the meeting, information related to medical benefits, non-medical benefits and burial
benefits will be presented. Participants also will hear the latest on VA programs, will have the opportunity to provide feedback and will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with representatives from the VA for assistance with questions or issues related to their individual cases. The meeting is open to all members of the public, including congressional stakeholders, veterans’ service organizations, state and local governmental and non-governmental organi(continued on page 5)
NM Police investigating early morning stabbing By The Paper staff
Ranaan Meyer performs an impromptu concert on Feb. 29 in the Visit Wabash County office. Photo by Joseph Slacian
North Manchester Police are investigating the stabbing of a man at Jamestown Apartment Complex. On Monday, March 7, at approximately 3 a.m., the NMPD received a call that a man had been stabbed at the complex located on West 4th Street. Upon arrival, officers located Ernest Johnson III with multiple stab wounds. He was transported to a hospital by Lutheran Air. Johnson is in critical condition, according to Jeffrey Perry,
North Manchester Chief of Police. The case is still under investigation.