Content provided by the Pulaski County Prosecutor’s Office
WINAMAC – A Pulaski County jury convicted a Francesville man of confinement and intimidation after a jury trial this week, Prosecutor Kelly Gaumer announced today.
The jurors heard evidence that Russell Finnegan pointed a shotgun at a farmer in a field in Francesville and handcuffed him on October 18, 2019. Finnegan then confronted the landowner of the property while holding the same weapon and ordered him out of his house into the field with the farmer. Finnegan claimed that he was angry at them for straightening the edge of the property approximately a year and a half before the confrontation. Finnegan leased a house from the landowner near the field.
The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to the scene after both Finnegan and the landowner called 911. The sheriff’s deputies were confused when they found the farmer in the field handcuffed. Deputy Phillip Foerg released the farmer from the handcuffs, and both the farmer and the landowner said they were being held against their will. Deputy Foerg arrested Finnegan for confinement and, during the encounter, discovered Finnegan armed with a second gun behind his back. Both firearms had live rounds of ammunition.
Evidence showed that the farmer had an agreement with the landowner to farm the land and straighten the edge of the field. When Finnegan approached the farmer, he pointed the shotgun at him, ordered him to the ground, and placed him in handcuffs before confronting the landowner.
Only one victim was available to testify because the other passed away from a separate, unrelated accident approximately a month after the crime occurred.
“Finnegan’s actions traumatized the victims who were visibly upset when deputies arrived,” Gaumer said. “Nobody expects to be confronted with a loaded gun and held hostage in a place they are legally allowed to be for doing something they were legally allowed to do.”
Finnegan argued that he was performing a lawful citizens’ arrest over the farmer and the landowner because they straightened the edge of the field 18 months earlier. However, the jury rejected that argument after their deliberation.
Finnegan faces a sentence of up to 20 years before Special Judge Kim Hall on June 3, 2022.
