A 27-year-old Terre Haute man found himself behind bars with a $50,000 cash only bond in the early morning hours of Nov. 26 after allegedly strangling and battering a female as well as resisting law enforcement.

Gerard Byron Edgerton, Jr., was arrested by Greene County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Michael Stanley on charges of strangulation, domestic battery, invasion of privacy-violation of a protective order, interference with the reporting of a crime, and resisting law enforcement after Stanley was dispatched at a Northeast I Street apartment in reference to a 911 call.

A call, in which yelling and crying from a female could be heard, had been made to Greene County Dispatch. Dispatch; however, was unable to identify the caller as the call had been disconnected. Returned calls were not answered and texts using the 911 Texty feature were unanswered.

When Deputy Stanley arrived at the apartment complex, he stayed on the stairs momentarily to listen for any signs of an altercation before knocking or making forcible entry depending on the circumstances. He wrote in the probable cause that he could hear a male yelling, but was unsure what was going on. A male – later identified as a neighbor – exited the apartment, left one of the apartments. When the door opened, Stanley noticed another male – later identified as Edgerton – with his hand around the neck of a female victim, later identified as the one who called 911 in the apartment.

When Deputy Stanley told Edgerton to “back up”, he allegedly moved away from the victim and toward the officer. He said he was going home and started to walk past Deputy Stanley. Stanley put both hands on Edgerton to stop him and told him to put his hands behind his back. As he was about to handcuff Edgerton’s left hand, he moved it away and said he was going to his uncle’s house. Stanley again placed his hands behind his back and he pulled away causing Stanley to order him to stop and place his hands behind his back again.

Stanley said Edgerton continued to pull away from him to get to the victim. He also stated he needed to use the restroom and needed to take medication for a medical condition. Stanley said he could do so if he compiled with his orders.. Edgerton pulled away and he and Stanley went in circles and Edgerton ended up facing bookshelves next to the front door. He spun around facing Stanley with only his left hand secured in the handcuffs while Stanley was attempting to secure his right hand in them. He continued to pull away moving his right arm, making it difficult to secure both hands properly. Stanley wrote in the probable cause that he pushed Edgerton into the bookshelves to pin him long enough to gain access to his right hand and properly secure it in handcuffs.

As Stanley was transporting Edgerton to his police cruiser, he allegedly admitted he was aware there was a protective order in place against him by the victim. He told Stanley the victim was “going to drop” the protective order. He said he thinks the victim called the police because he took her phone, and he said he took her phone because he didn’t want to get in trouble with the police. The protective order was put in place Aug. 26, 2022 and is active until Aug, 24, 2024.

Edgerton told Stanley he and the victim began arguing over rent. He had previously been staying at the residence and had not contributed his portion of the rent. He said talking about the rent is what made him mad. Deputy Stanley went to speak with the victim while Edgerton was left in the care of Deputies Camron Frye and Michael Coy of the Sheriff’s Department, Janzen Franklin of the Linton Police Department, and Dustin Cain of the Jasonville Police Department.

The victim admitted that Edgerton had been staying with her although it wasn’t a wise decision as he becomes “violent” when he drinks. She told Deputy Stanley that he had been drinking the evening of the incident and had been “mean and hateful”. She said she had become tired of him being that way and told him to get out. She said she pleaded with him to leave but he would not. He allegedly kept getting in her face over and over again.

The victim stated she did shove Edgerton, but it was to get him away from her face. She stated he had been putting his hands on her neck. She stated he was “putting hands on her” all night since he started drinking. The victim also stated he shoved her in a bedroom,causing her to hurt her left hand. She said she believed several things were broken on the side of the bedroom she fell into. She also told Stanley that Edgerton made contact with her body at least 10 times. One of those times – at the very least – she felt like her airway was starting to cut off. This happened in the bedroom when she was shoved down. She had a visible laceration underneath her neckline. She also informed Deputy Stanley she had two slipped discs in her back that were reaggravated by the events that occurred.

Edgerton appeared in Greene Superior Court via two way video on Nov. 29 and was officially charged with: