Ripley Co. Prosecutor Announces Two Felony Convictions

Sentencing has been handed down after two separate jury trials.

(Versailles, Ind.) - Ripley County Prosecuting Attorney Ric Hertel has announced the successful conviction and sentencing of two Ripley County individuals following separate jury trials in Ripley Circuit Court. 

On January 7, 2026, Frank T. Platt, 37, of Osgood, was found guilty of Burglary (Level 5 Felony). The conviction stemmed from a March 2025 incident where Platt broke into a garage belonging to a family in Osgood and removed numerous items, which were later recovered by law enforcement. 

The Court sentenced Platt on April 8 to five and one-half years in the Indiana Department of Corrections with no time suspended to probation. Platt's criminal history and history of probation violations were aggravating factors. 

On February 26, a Ripley County jury found Thomas J. McConnell, II, 42, of Osgood, guilty of Possession of Methamphetamine (Level 6 Felony). 

The case originated on February 15, 2023, when an Indiana State Police Trooper stopped McConnell's vehicle on I-74 for traveling 82 mph in a 70-mph zone. A certified drug detection K-9 alerted to narcotics, and a search was conducted. A crystal substance that tested positive for methamphetamine was found in a non-factory hidden compartment. 

Following the jury's verdict, McConnell entered a guilty plea to an enhancing circumstance establishing a prior conviction for Dealing in Methamphetamine out of Franklin County, elevating the offense to a Level 5 Felony. 

He was sentenced on April 10 to six years in the Indiana Department of Corrections with no time suspended to probation.