Published: June 26, 2008 12:24 pm         

Man convicted in motel theft

Sentencing on three counts set for next month

A Cass County judge found a Logansport man guilty of stealing money from a motel safe in 2006.

During a bench trial on Monday, Cass Superior Court II Judge Rick Maughmer ruled that 29-year-old Joshua Fry was guilty of class D felony theft, class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement and misdemeanor public intoxication. The judge heard testimony from the clerk who caught him in the office, the people who tackled Fry as he ran from the motel and the police officers who administered an electrical shock and blasted him with mace while arresting him.

On the night of Aug. 1, 2006, Fry, a former motel employee, walked in the front door of the Super 8 Motel on East Market Street and entered the office. A bystander notified the clerk, who was on break at the time.

Fry was seen stuffing money in his pants before leaving the office. According to witness accounts, he ran from the motel laughing. Two people staying at the motel ran after Fry and tackled him nearby. As they did, Fry reportedly began pulling money from his pockets.

The motel clerk, Marsha Lindley, testified that she stood in front of the getaway car to keep it from driving away.

Logansport police officer Britt Edwards testified that Fry resisted arrest. He said Fry refused to get into a squad car, so officers used a taser to administer a stun to Fry’s upper chest. When Fry continued to resist, an officer used mace on him.

Edwards said he could smell alcohol on Fry and that he had red, watery eyes before he got maced.

Public defender Brad Rozzi waived the scheduled jury trial and opted for a bench trial, where evidence is heard and ruled on by a judge. Rozzi argued that no chain of custody could be established on the money found on and around Fry. He said that his client could have had the money on him before being apprehended.

Deputy Prosecutor Randy Head pointed out the money totaled the same amount taken from the safe.

Rozzi also asked for an acquittal on the resisting arrest and public intoxication charge. He said officers might have used excessive force and that since police failed to use a breathalyzer, there was not enough evidence to convict Fry of public intoxication.

Head called witnesses who were staying at the motel that night and took Fry down as he ran from the motel.

Todd Mullins said he was in the lobby at the time and heard the commotion about someone being inside an office without permission.

“I went after him,” Mullins said.

He caught up to Fry and tackled him. He and another guy held Fry down until police arrived. Fry apologized for taking the money and said they could have it back, Mullins said.

Several of the state’s witnesses identified Fry as the culprit

Fry was able to avoid being classified as a habitual offender. Prosecutors attempted to prove the charge by using two prior felony convictions for fraud and prescription drug abuse. But Maughmer ruled that only one of the felonies — the drug conviction — applied. That was not enough to satisfy the charge, which would have added as much as five years to Fry’s sentence.

Fry was ordered back to jail to await a sentencing hearing at 11 a.m. July 21.

Staff writer Brian Rosenthal contributed to this report.