Driver accused of reckless driving and OVWI in connection with jacklighting incident

Four suspects are facing various misdemeanor charges in connection with a jacklighting and underage drinking incident but the driver, the only one arrested, is facing an additional case charging him with reckless driving, false informing and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Kyle Boulanger

Kyle Michael Boulanger, 19, Linton, the driver, was arrested by Bloomfield Deputy Marshal Jordan Allor early Sunday, November 25, after officers from at least three departments responded to a report around 1 a.m. of someone shining a light and shooting from a vehicle.  

Boulanger was booked in to the Greene County Jail around 3:30 a.m. and has since been charged with:

• Operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor,

• Operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor,

• Operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent to at least .08 but less than .15, a Class C misdemeanor,

• Reckless driving – driving at unreasonable speed that endangers safety, a Class C misdemeanor,

• False informing, a Class B misdemeanor, and

• Illegal possession of an alcoholic beverage, a Class C misdemeanor.

Boulanger and his three passengers are all facing jacklighting and other misdemeanors in separate cases that have been the subject of a previous story. Indiana Conservation Officer Greg Swanson was the investigating officer for that aspect of the incident.

Officer Allor is the officer investigating the other aspect of the incident involving the additional accusations against Boulanger and a probable cause affidavit prepared by Allor reveals some additional details about the incident.

The caller said the vehicle was in the Plummer River Bottoms area of County Road 260 South and CR 100 West. The caller claimed he’d heard about 20 shots and saw a spotlight shining from the vehicle. The caller said it was an older truck with a loud exhaust.

After Allor responded to the area and was near CR W 100 S and S 150 W, with ICO Swanson and other officers on the way, Allor saw headlights coming toward him, on a narrow road with the possibility the occupants in the vehicle were armed with firearms. He turned onto another road to allow them to pass. Once back on the road, he said the truck was pulling away from him at a high rate of speed and continued to accelerate.

Allor said he did not activate his red and blue lights in order to prevent any further erratic driving. But as he was approaching the intersection of South 250 West and Baseline Road, Allor was traveling at approximately 97 mph, and he lost sight of the truck.

Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy Davis Aerne then located the truck, a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup, in a field north of State Road 54 on the east side of CR 250 West. When Allor arrived along with ICO Swanson and Deputy Zach Goad, the officers approached the truck with four individuals inside.

Allor said he found the marijuana beside the truck because it fell out of the truck when the door was opened, giving Allor a clear view of two rifles on the floor board. One of the passengers said the rifles were his and the marijuana was too. When the rifles were retrieved, a live round was cleared out of both of them.

Allor also noted Busch Light beer on the ground, more Busch Light beer cans in the bed of the truck and a Busch Light beer can box in the field about 20-30 feet away from the truck.

Allor said Boulanger exhibited signs of intoxication but said he hadn’t had anything to drink. Although the others admitted they’d all been drinking, were under the age of 21 and had been spotlighting and shooting the guns, Boulanger allegedly told Allor that no one had shot the guns and he maintained that he was not drinking.

Allor reported that when he asked one of the passengers how fast they were going when they went over the bridge on CR South 250 West, he said he had no clue but it was scary when they hit a little jump before the bridge. He also said his brother had told Boulanger to take them home because of how he was driving.

Boulanger reportedly failed field sobriety testing on the scene and a portable breath test showed him with a blood alcohol concentration of .103. Boulanger was transported to the Greene County Sheriff’s Department where Allor reported Boulanger again failed field sobriety testing then submitted to a chemical test. The second test, administered close to 3 a.m., allegedly showed he had a BAC of .088.

Boulanger’s bond was set at $4,500 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He was released later in the day after posting $450 cash.

Boulanger was scheduled to appear in court for his initial hearing on December 10 but he retained an attorney from Terre Haute to represent him in both cases and he waived the initial hearing. His case will be back in court for a pre-trial conference in January.