Eagle 99.3's Top Local News Stories Of 2011

Take a stroll through the year that was 2011 as Eagle 99.3 News recaps the biggest news stories of the year.

Eagle 99.3 news director Mike Perleberg has ranked the top ten local news stories of 2011. The rankings are based on each story’s magnitude, how long it remained in the headlines, and how popular respective articles were on the radio station’s website.

Weigh in with your thoughts on our top ten news stories and the rankings on our Facebook page, or e-mail news@eaglecountryonline.com.

1. Five People Shot To Death In Franklin County – September

David Ison is accused of murdering five people

in Franklin County.

A couple driving on their way home from church came across a disturbing scene – a four-year-old girl wandering in the road and crying. Police were called and what was discovered next would shake all of southeast Indiana to the core.

Five people were found dead at two nearby homes on Stipps Hill Road near Laurel in western Franklin County. Roy Napier, his ex-wife Angela, and their two grown children, Melissa and Jacob, and family friend Henry Smith were all shot to death.

Three days later, David Ison was arrested on a warrant out of Ripley County. He would later be charged with the five murders.

Investigators believe Ison was attempting to buy prescription painkillers from Roy Napier. When Ison was told the price of the pills had been raised by two dollars, he allegedly began a massacre of Napier and his family.

Ison remains held in jail. Franklin County Prosecutor Mel Wilhelm has yet to announce whether he will seek the death penalty against the suspected murderer.

Ison has been granted a change of venue for his trial because of the amount of media attention it has received in Franklin County.

2. Army Pfc. Brett Bondurant Survives, Recovers From IED Blast – September

Army Pfc. Brett Bondurant survived

an IED explosion while serving in

Afghanistan in September, shown

here with his new artificial legs.

Brett Bondurant says the real heroes are the soldiers who didn’t get to come home, but everybody else who hears his story can’t help but express some gratitude for his sacrifice.

The Army private was on patrol with his unit in Afghanistan east of Kandahar on September 28 when an improvised explosive device, or IED, detonated.

Some of Bondurant’s fellow soldiers were killed. The 2009 Lawrenceburg High School graduate was burned and lost both his legs in the blast.

As Bondurant spent the next three months recovering at a military hospital in Texas. Meanwhile, the Greendale and Lawrenceburg communities showered him with support from afar by decorating seemingly every street corner and home with yellow ribbons.  Friends and family organized fundraisers. Strangers donated generously to the Brett Bondurant Recovery Fund.

In December, Bondurant made a celebrated return home. December 19 was declared Brett Bondurant Day in both cities. A standing room only crowd cheered loudly as Bondurant made an appearance at Lawrenceburg High School, using two canes to help support him on his two new artificial legs. The hometown hero was then the focus of a parade.

Bondurant, who was married to his fiancée in November, remained home through Christmas. He continues to rehabilitate from his injuries and is learning to walk on his own again.

3. Escaped Inmate Burglarizes Bright Homes, Shoots Man – September

William Gajdik is awaiting trial in

Dearborn County accused of

burglarizing two homes and

shooting a man.

Northern Dearborn County went on lockdown the day of September 6 after a man burglarized two homes and shot one of the homeowners.

William Gajdik is accused of leaving a Nebraska minimum security in July. As he was on the lam, he ventured to Bright where he broke into a home on North Dearborn Road in Bright and stole a gun. That homeowner arrived home, took the keys from the car Gajdik was driving, and confronted the burglar.

Gajdik allegedly ran off into nearby woods as a manhunt ensued. He would resurface about six hours later after hiding in another home on Ruth Avenue in Logan Township less than a mile away.

When Robert Tibbits arrived home, Gajdik allegedly shot him in the back and stole his car. He was able to evade police as he fled the area.

Thanks to the work of Dearborn County Special Crimes Unit detectives, Gajdik would be taken into custody at a hotel in Minnesota.

He was brought back to Dearborn County to answer to charges of Attempted Murder, Burglary, Robbery Causing Serious Bodily Injury, Robbery with a Deadly Weapon, and Auto Theft. A judge ordered him held on a $5 million bond, one of the highest ever seen in Dearborn County.

Gajdik is currently awaiting trial.

4. Dearborn County Planning Jail Expansion – Various Months

First is was $15 million, then about $12 million, and now in the ballpark of $9 million as Dearborn County leaders pushed for an expansion of the Dearborn County Law Enforcement Center throughout the year.

Dearborn County Sheriff Mike Kreinhop and Prosecutor Aaron Negangard have lobbied for the larger jail, saying the current jail is overcrowded.

Local defense lawyers Doug Garner and Alan Miller fired back, stating that the solution to reducing the jail population lies in more drug counseling programs and lower bond amounts for people awaiting trial.

Expansion plans from engineering firm RQAW would add up to 150 new beds. The latest estimates given range between $8.4 million and $9.3 million.

In November, county council voted 4-2 to proceed with the expansion.

A month later, council members voted 4-3 to change an ordinance requiring a unanimous vote to tap into the county’s riverboat savings fund for capital projects. The change paves the way for the use of that money to pay for the jail expansion.

Council could make a decision at their January meeting on how much to take from the savings to fund the project.

5. Blogger Goes On Trial, Gets Five Years In Prison – October

Dan Brewington

Internet blog posts with harsh words and perceived threats ignited a courtroom debate over what is free speech or harassment.

After he lost custody of his two daughters in a Ripley County divorce case transferred to Dearborn Circuit Court Judge James D. Humphrey, Dan Brewington created and ran a website www.DanHelpsKids.com. He also ranted about his court experiences on a separate blog, Dan's Adventures in Taking on the Family Courts.

Throughout thousands of words and copious blog posts, Brewington, 37, lashed out at Humphrey, child custody evaluator Dr. Edward Conner, Sheriff Mike Kreinhop, and Dearborn County Prosecutor Aaron Negangard.

In March, Brewington was arrested following a grand jury indictment on charges of Intimidation, Intimidation of a Judge, Attempt to Commit Obstruction of Justice, and Perjury.

He stayed in jail for nearly eight months awaiting his trial. During that time, he filed a lawsuit in federal court accusing the county and its officials of violating his civil rights.

“Defendants acted knowingly and intentionally without regard to Plaintiff’s legal rights in conspiring to deprive the Plaintiff of his liberty for Plaintiff’s postings on the Internet/blogsite, that any average citizen would consider protected speech,” Brewington’s suit claimed.

Negangard prosecuted a four day jury trial before a specially appointed out-of-county judge. Humphrey, the judge’s wife, Conner, Kreinhop, and Brewington’s ex wife were all called to testify by the prosecution. Brewington declined to take the stand on his own and his defense called no witnesses.

As the trial ended, the jury took about two hours to return guilty verdicts on five of the six counts. Brewington was later sentenced to five years in prison which he is currently serving.

Brewington is in the process of appealing his criminal conviction. His civil rights suit has been dismissed as being frivolous.