GCSD detectives and deputies responded Friday to a battery by baseball bat

Two detectives and at least three deputies responded last Friday to a battery in the Lawrence Hollow area of eastern Greene County where they found a man covered in blood. He said he’d been hit in the head with a baseball bat. During the investigation, another man, who was not named as a suspect or victim in the battery incident, was arrested on drug charges.

Steven Eugene Harden

Steven Eugene Harden, 29, Bloomfield, was arrested by Det. Shawn Cullison of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department last Friday afternoon, October 22.

Det. Cullison was dispatched to a location on McCullough Lane, in the Lawrence Hollow area, rural Bloomfield, where a battery was reported to have taken place. When he arrived, he talked to David Butche who was covered in blood with a large laceration to his head and a ripped shirt. Butche said he’d been hit in the head with a baseball bat by Kevin Caldwell at a trailer on East McCullough Lane. One man who lived at the trailer said he’d talked to Kevin on the phone and he explained where Caldwell was located – at another residence in the area  - 1689 North Lawrence Hollow Drive. Det. Cullison was familiar with the trailer and the resident who lived there – Steven Harden.

Det. Cullison then went to Harden’s residence, along with GCSD Deputies Harvey Holt, Logan Milligan, Sgt. Jordan Allor and Det. David Elmore. When he knocked the door, it came open and he reported he and other deputies could smell the odor of marijuana coming from the house. Nobody answered the door and Det. Cullison decided to ask for a search warrant.

Then Harden came home and said he’d given Caldwell a ride to another location but allegedly said he didn’t know where he took Caldwell and he wasn’t going to tell the deputies where Caldwell was located.

Harden first refused to allow a search then while the request for a warrant was being made, Harden changed his mind and consented to a search, while allegedly saying the only thing in the house was some syringes and that they would test positive for methamphetamine.

Det. Cullison reported that during the search, they found numerous items of paraphernalia, and syringes. Some of the items field-tested positive for marijuana, others for methamphetamine.

Harden was transported to the Greene County Jail where he was booked in at 3:40 p.m. He was held without bond pending his appearance in court.

Yesterday, October 26, during his initial hearing in Greene Superior Court, Harden was charged with:

• Possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony,

• Unlawful possession of syringe, a Level 6 felony, and

• Possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor.

His bond was set at $8,500 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He has since posted bond of $850 and been released from custody.

As to David Butche, no further information was included by Det. Cullison in Harden’s probable cause affidavit. However, Butche turned up in the Monroe County Jail. The jail record shows Butche was booked in on October 22, same day as the incident in Lawrence Hollow.

David Aaron Butche, 30, was wanted on a warrant that was issued for his arrest on September 7 in Monroe County as a result of an investigation into an incident that occurred in June, also in Monroe County. His bond was set at $5,000 surety and $500 cash. As of today, Wednesday, October 27, he has not yet posted bond and remains in custody in the Monroe County Jail.

Butche appeared in Monroe Circuit Court 5 on Monday, October 25, for his initial hearing. He’s now been charged with two counts of battery resulting in bodily injury to a public safety officer – both are Level 5 felonies. He is scheduled for a bond review hearing tomorrow, October 28, in Monroe County.

As for Kevin Caldwell, no further information was included by Det, Cullison in Harden’s probable cause affidavit. No criminal charges have been filed against him, as of today, and there does not appear to be any warrants out for him at this time.

Caldwell has a criminal history and is required to register on Indiana’s Sex and Violent Offender Registry until January of 2024 due to a 2011 conviction in Greene County for sexual misconduct with a minor, a Class C felony. He was sentenced to four years in prison with two years suspended – he was released in 2014. According to the Registry, he resides in the Solsberry area.