BEDFORD — A Williams man faces a slew of felony and misdemeanor charges—including operating a vehicle while intoxicated with a prior conviction—after allegedly disrupting families at a public pool on Independence Day and nearly striking a curb multiple times while fleeing the scene.
Gage Sanders, 32, was arrested on Saturday, July 4, 2026, following a coordinated response by the Bedford Police Department. He faces charges of OWI, OWI with a prior conviction, OWI endangerment, OWI with a blood-alcohol level of 0.15% or higher, public intoxication, and possession of marijuana.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by Bedford Police Officer Aaron Manke, emergency dispatchers initially sent officers to the Thornton Park Pool at 1717 Q Street. The dispatch was initiated after pool staff and parents reported a heavily intoxicated male stumbling across the pool deck and visibly struggling to pull himself out of the water.
Upon arriving at the park, Officer Manke met with the pool manager. He reported that the suspect had just left the property, driving a blue Chevrolet Blazer toward 16th Street.
Officer Manke pursued the vehicle westbound on 16th Street and quickly located a matching blue Blazer. While trailing the vehicle, the officer observed it repeatedly drifting out of its lane, crossing the solid white fog line, and nearly striking the roadside curb twice. The Blazer then swerved over the solid white line of the merge lane leading onto the northbound State Road 37. Officer Manke immediately activated his emergency lights and initiated a traffic stop just north of 16th Street.
Officer Manke identified the driver as Sanders, who was wearing the same dark blue/gray shirt described by pool dispatchers. The officer immediately detected a strong odor of alcohol on Sanders’ breath and person, and noted that his eyes were heavily glassy.
When asked if he had been drinking, Sanders claimed he had not. However, when Officer Manke asked him to perform Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs) to prove it, Sanders flatly refused. The affidavit notes that Sanders was slurring his words heavily and struggled to speak in complete or coherent sentences.
Sanders was placed in handcuffs and escorted to the rear of the patrol vehicle, where he was read his Miranda rights. While being questioned, Sanders, unprompted, told the officer, “Just take me to jail”.
Officer Turner arrived on the scene to assist, at which point Sanders agreed to a preliminary breath test (PBT). The roadside test returned a positive result of 0.18% blood-alcohol concentration—well over double Indiana’s legal driving limit. Sanders consented to a chemical test and was transported to IU Health Bedford Hospital, where a lab technician drew two vials of whole blood at 4:58 p.m. The samples have been sent to the Indiana State Department of Toxicology for certified testing.
While Sanders was being evaluated at the hospital, Officer Turner conducted a standard vehicle inventory search before the Blazer was towed by Stone City Towing. The search uncovered a mobile bar of alcohol and contraband scattered across the floorboards:
- Front Passenger Floorboard: A tall Twisted Tea container and a full bottle of Coors beer.
- Backseat Floorboard: A plastic carrier for a six-pack of Coors Golden Beer and an additional tall Twisted Tea container.
- Contraband: A multicolored metal grinder containing a plant-like material and a green “smoothie bar” vape.
The items were transported to police headquarters, where the contents of the vape field-tested positive for marijuana. The metal grinder was logged by department staff to be destroyed, and the remaining evidence was sealed in the department’s secure lockup.
Officer Manke later returned to Thornton Park Pool to secure a formal recorded statement from the manager and review security footage. Kimbley stated that he had received numerous complaints from concerned parents regarding Sanders’ behavior. When the manager tried to speak to Sanders, he found him lying in the pool, unable to speak without slurring, unable to tell the manager his own name, and visibly struggling just to put his shoes on.
A review of the public pool’s surveillance cameras showed Sanders struggling significantly with his balance as he walked to his car. The footage also captured Sanders leaving the parking lot, pulling up behind a vehicle that had properly stopped at a stop sign, and then driving straight through the stop sign without stopping when it was his turn to do so.
Following his medical clearance at the hospital, Sanders was transported to the Lawrence County Jail for housing. Officer Manke noted in the final report that Sanders has a previous conviction for operating a vehicle while intoxicated out of Lawrence County dating back to 2021.
All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This article is based on the information provided in the probable cause affidavit and does not represent a final determination of guilt or innocence.
