Pulaski County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Winamac man Friday night after he allegedly fired a shotgun toward an occupied house.
At around 11:46 p.m., police were called to 5885 N. 575 W. in Winamac in reference to a shooting, and were told that a gray or silver truck had pulled up by their residence while the family, including the wives and infant children, was standing outside. The property owner said the truck seemed to shine a light on them, and then fired five or six shots that seemed to be in their direction, which led police to find four red shotgun shells lying on the ground by the intersection of county roads 600 North and 575 West.
When police went to find the suspect, they passed the suspect’s truck on 700 West where it was parked near a NIPSCO substation. The truck pulled out and headed eastbound after the officer passed it, and the officer turned his car around and pulled the truck over. The officer noticed a shotgun in the cab of the truck and detained the driver, who was identified as Jerry Lynch, 24.
The officer soon found a case of beer in the bed of the truck, several empty or partially-filled beer cans in the cab, a fresh wet spill on the driver’s side floor mat, and a shotgun on the passenger seat along with several spent shotgun shells and boxes of ammunition. Deputy John Haley said Lynch was verbally abusive and had a hard time holding his balance.
Another deputy, Travis Clark, arrived on the scene and performed a field sobriety test while Haley searched the vehicle and seized a number of items, including the shotgun and several varieties of ammunition.
Lynch was arrested and taken to the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, where he refused to take a chemical test, forcing police to obtain a search warrant to conduct a blood draw test. He was booked on preliminary charges of Refusal to Submit to a Chemical Test, Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated, and Criminal Recklessness with a Firearm While Armed with a Deadly Weapon.
