Man accused of using ATV to run over conservation officer
The Tribune-Star

A 28-year-old man appeared in court Monday on allegations he ran over a state conservation officer with an all-terrain vehicle.

Andrew S. May appeared in Vigo Superior Court Division 5 Monday for an initial hearing stemming from an incident that occurred Saturday. May allegedly was trespassing on private property in northwestern Vigo County when conservation officer Deland Szczepanski stopped him, according to authorities.

Szczepanski identified himself as a police officer and then radioed a Vermillion County Sheriff's Department dispatcher for driver's license information, a news release issued by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources reports.

The dispatcher said the suspect was wanted on a warrant for petition to revoke probation, the release states. May overheard Szczepanski's conversation and allegedly tried to flee on the ATV, running over Szczepanski, the release reported. The officer's arm was caught on a metal bar on the ATV, and Szczepanski was dragged about 200 yards, according to police.

Authorities later arrested May at a Shepardsville residence.

Szczepanski suffered minor injuries to his legs, back, shoulder, neck and ribs. He did not get medical attention after the incident, said Max Winchell, Indiana Conservation Officer and District 5 public information officer for the Department of Natural Resources.

May was taken to the Vigo County Jail, where he posted $650 bail, Winchell said. Winchell said that May did not give authorities a current address. In Vigo Superior Court Division 5, a judge found probable cause for his arrest on allegations of battery on a law enforcement officer causing bodily injury and resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, both class-D felonies; and criminal trespassing and criminal recklessness, both class-A misdemeanors, said deputy prosecutor Jason Saunders.

May will return to court on Thursday. He declined comment.