MUNCIE — A Delaware
County sheriff’s deputy was placed on administrative leave this week after
Yorktown police said he fired several gunshots at his own pickup truck while
intoxicated.
Thomas A. Smith, 29, Muncie, was taken into police custody
after the Jan. 19 incident and was preliminarily charged with criminal
recklessness with a deadly weapon, public intoxica¬tion and two counts of
criminal mischief.
Yorktown Marshal Todd St. John said Smith, a military
veteran, has since been admitted to the Marion VA Medical Center.
According to a probable cause affidavit, a report of
gunshots fired brought Yorktown officers to the car wash in the 6200 block of
West Kilgore Avenue about 5:55 a.m.
When an officer arrived at the scene, he observed a man
later identified as Smith standing near the passenger side of his green Dodge
Ram pickup truck, which was parked inside a wash bay with “several bullet holes
in it.” Upon first contact with the officer, Smith vol¬untarily handed over his
belt and holster that contained his Glock 40-caliber handgun, according to the
report.
During an interview with Yorktown officers, Smith said he
had been drink¬ing and was “upset about the direction his life was going” and
was “taking it out” on his own vehicle by shooting it 10 to 15 times. A
portable breath test mea¬sured Smith’s blood-alcohol content at 0.16 percent —
twice the legal limit for motorists in Indiana.
The report indicated bullets fired by the reserve deputy’s
gun also hit the car wash building, a nearby storage structure and a
sport-utility vehicle parked across the street.
Delaware County Sheriff Mike Scroggins said his office will
be conducting its own “in-depth internal investigation” into Smith’s actions.
He has been placed on administrative leave as a reserve deputy and has since
turned in his county- issued ID and keys, according to the sheriff.
Local court records reflect no recent charges or convictions
for Smith