In 2021, several deputies have responded to the same residence at least 19 times, sometimes for civil disputes, other times for claims of trespassers and thefts and mischief and other suspicious things.

Robby Denton Merriman, 48, and Angela Merriman, 44, rural Bloomfield, will both be receiving a summons to appear for initial hearings in Greene Superior Court in December. They are both being charged with false informing that substantially hinders a law enforcement procedure, a Class A misdemeanor, as a result of an investigation by Deputy Camron Frye of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputy Frye was dispatched on September 20 to a residence on McCutchen Lane in the Lawrence Hollow area where Angela Merriman had reported a man had come to the property, stole a toolbox and a tarp and locked the doors to the house.

When Deputy Frye arrived and talked to the Merrimans, they named a suspect and said he had broken into their residence and stolen the deed to the property, but they had not actually seen him on the property.

Deputy Frye noted that another deputy, Deputy Michael Coy, had talked to the suspect the day before and determined there was an issue that was a civil matter. Deputy Frye again advised the Merrimans their issue was a civil matter and they were advised to go to court.

Angela Merriman then invited Deputy Frye inside the house so he could see it had been ransacked. Deputy Frye reported there was damage to a door but the inside of the house appeared unkempt, but not ransacked.

Robby Merriman then said his truck had been vandalized. Deputy Frye checked the truck, a 1998 Isuzu spray painted red, black and white. The steering column was damaged, as if someone had attempted to turn the vehicle on without a key. Robby Merriman said the suspect did it and that tools and a tarp were also missing. But he didn’t have any serial numbers for the tools and could not describe them. Angela said the neighbors up the road have surveillance cameras that would show the suspect had been there.

When Deputy Frye talked to the neighbor, she said she checks her cameras daily and had not seen the suspect at the property for a while and he had not been seen on the surveillance videos.

When Deputy Frye talked to another man in the area, he said the Merrimans claim to see people but nobody is there. When asked if he knew anything about the truck, he said Robby lost the key to the truck and ripped the steering column out, then tried to hotwire it to get it going. He said he was in his yard and was watching when that was happening.

Deputy Frye reported that dealing with the Merriman’s report of criminal mischief took over an hour for him to handle, and based on the information gathered, it appeared to be a false report. And it wasn’t the first time something similar had happened.

According to Deputy Frye, the Greene County Sheriff’s Department has responded to the Merriman’s address at least 19 times in 2021 alone. Thirteen of those calls were made by Angela Merriman. The man suspected in the latest alleged criminal mischief made two of the calls – both related to civil matters, and another woman made a call, also about a civil matter.

Calls the deputies have answered include eight issues that were civil disputes, two incidents of suspicious activity, six complaints about trespassing, two thefts, and one welfare check. Five case reports have been written up that include two incidents of theft, one civil issue and two reports of suspicious activity.

Multiple deputies have responded to these calls and multiple deputies have reported the yard at the residence has “booby traps” throughout. The Merriman have allegedly explained to various deputies that they have traps in the yard to ward off the trespassers. Deputies have reported the Merrimans name the trespassers but they’ve not seen them on the property. They have allegedly pointed out paths in the woods near their fence line they say the trespassers use. On one of these occasions, a deputy did not find human impressions but did find small impressions likely made by a deer.

On another occasion, a radio was reported as stolen out of the truck. A deputy found the radio on the ground near the truck and said it wasn’t stolen because it’s still on the property. Also, some rusted fencing material in the front part of the property was allegedly stolen from the rear of the property. The deputy asked why someone would go to the trouble of moving items and not actually stealing them.

After Deputy Frye’s last call to the residence, information was submitted to the prosecutor’s office and a criminal case was filed against both Merrimans.

False informing that substantially hinders a law enforcement procedure is a Class A misdemeanor. Their hearings are set for December 13.

In a probable cause affidavit prepared by Deputy Frye, regarding the latest call, he wrote, “The time dedicated to this call caused a substantial hindrance to the law enforcement process as it prevented me from answering legitimate calls for service as well as time dedicated to following up on misleading claims.”