Shooting near Dillsboro leaves one deceased, one incarcerated
Brent D. Wellman
In an incident that occurred close to Ripley County last week, Brent David Wellman, 33, Seymour, is in custody and Dennis W. Adams, Jr., 39, of Erlanger, KY, was discovered deceased from multiple gunshot wounds.
According to information from Dearborn County Prosecutor Lynn Deddens the case started in Jennings County at the residence of Rachel Warren, the girlfriend of Adams. The two had recently begun dating. On August 13, Adams went to Warren’s residence in North Vernon and spent the night. He got up about 4:45 a.m. to leave for work on August 14.
Information from the Prosecutor went on to say a few days prior to August 13 Wellman had called Warren asking to drop off some of his property as he had been kicked out of the place he was staying. Wellman and Warren have a child together and he also asked if he could wish the child a happy birthday. Warren told Wellman he could not stop by as it would be late since he works second shift at his job. She then told Wellman he could pick up their child from a relative in the morning of August 14. Wellman told police she and Adams heard a noise that sounded like someone was After they looked around they thought it was the air conditioner.
On Thursday, August 14, news began to spread about a possible murder with the suspect on the loose in or near the Dillsboro area. That caused concern for many as they prepared for their morning routine. Someone had alerted police they heard gunshots about 5:41 a.m. and then a blue vehicle was heading east on US 50.
Sgt. Stephen Wheeles of the Indiana State Police asked people to use caution if they would be in the area of Hueseman Road and Laughery Creek. People were asked to lock their doors and call the police immediately if they observed anything suspicious in the area.
By 11:16 a.m. the Dearborn County Sheriff’s Office released that the person of interest was in custody. Sheriff Shane McHenry noted that they had dispatched officers to the area of US 50 near Campo Verde Drive and Gilday Drive in Dillsboro, after a call came in from a concerned citizen. He noted that they were told two people were in the vehicle and one “did not look good”. At about 5:55 a.m. Sgt. Travis Pendergast with the sheriff’s office saw a vehicle stopped in the roadway on Hueseman Road. After a brief interaction with the driver, the driver fled in the vehicle. Several officers headed to the area but they lost the vehicle for a short period of time. At 6:06 a.m. the blue SUV with Kentucky registration to Adams was located unoccupied after it was crashed into an embankment near 9750 Hueseman Road, according to police. A perimeter was set up with police locating a deceased male just off the roadway in a wooded area. The deceased male appeared to have several gunshot wounds.
Police brought in a helicopter, drones and K9 teams and found another male in the creek (allegedly the driver of the crashed vehicle).
Adams was taken to the Hamilton County Morgue for an autopsy. Wellman was taken to the Dearborn County Jail where formal criminal charges of murder and resisting law enforcement are pending. Wellman was to appear before Judge Negangard in Dearborn County Circuit Court on Monday, August 18.
