BEDFORD — A 21-year-old Bedford man was arrested early Tuesday, September 7th, after police responded to reports of a vehicle speeding and spinning its tires through a local apartment complex.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by Bedford Police Major Dakoda Emmons, officers were dispatched to Ludlow Drive following complaints of a black SUV driving recklessly and the driver yelling at residents.
Upon arrival, Major Emmons located the vehicle facing west on Ludlow Drive. When the officer approached, the driver—identified as Cayden James Thomas, 21, of Bedford—put the vehicle in reverse and motioned for the patrol car to pass before exiting the SUV.
While speaking with Thomas, officers noted slurred speech, glassy, bloodshot eyes, and an odor of alcohol. Thomas admitted to consuming alcohol and submitted to a preliminary breath test, which yielded a result of 0.169% BrAC.
Thomas was taken into custody and transported to the Bedford Police Department for a certified breath test, which he subsequently refused. Officers noted that while at the station, Thomas was uncooperative and loud, requiring leg restraints to prevent him from wandering.
Major Emmons obtained an OWI blood draw search warrant signed by Lawrence Superior Court I Judge John M. Plummer III at 12:17 a.m. Thomas was transported to IU Health Bedford Hospital, where nursing staff completed a blood draw at 12:50 a.m. The samples were packaged for submission to the Indiana State Department of Toxicology.
A witness told police the SUV entered the neighborhood at high speeds, performed a burnout near the dumpsters, ran a stop sign, and returned 30 minutes later, driving recklessly again. During a partial vehicle inventory before the SUV was turned over to its owners, officers located an open container of whiskey on the front passenger seat.
A driver’s license check revealed Thomas’s driving privileges were suspended with a prior conviction, and he was found to have an active arrest warrant out of Orange County for failure to appear on an original charge of driving while suspended.
Thomas was transported to the Lawrence County Jail and remanded to the custody of the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level greater than 0.15 percent, OWI endangerment, and driving while his driver’s license was suspended with a prior conviction.
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.
