Motorcycle rider ran from a trooper on Monday, admitted guilt on Tuesday

A motorcycle rider who fled from a trooper, stashed his bike behind a trailer then crawled under another trailer to hide, was taken into custody after two deputies arrived to help flush him out. When he appeared in court the next day, he decided to just plead guilty and start serving his sentence.

Holden Edward Nicholson

Holden Edward Nicholson, 19, Carlisle, was arrested by Indiana State Police Trooper Caleb Garvin as a result of an incident mid-day last Monday, June 14.

Trooper Garvin was on patrol, headed south on US 231 just north of Harvest Church Road, south of Bloomfield, when he noticed a northbound Kawasaki motorcycle coming toward him with some equipment violations. When they passed each other, the trooper didn’t see a license plate on the bike. The rider was a white male, later identified as Holden Nicholson, wearing blue jeans but no shirt.

Trooper Garvin hit the lights and turned around to catch-up to the motorcycle, but it sped up then turned onto Lamp Lite Lane. When Trooper Garvin pulled onto Lamp Lite, he didn’t see the motorcycle, but he soon saw Nicholson running from behind a trailer. Nicholson then attempted to hide underneath another house trailer.

The trooper stopped, got out and yelled for Nicholson to come out from under the trailer but he said there was no noise after he yelled. Other officers had been dispatched to assist so while waiting, Garvin kept identifying himself as ISP and yelling for Nicholson to come out. There was no response.

When GCSD Deputies Harvey Holt and Terry Wade arrived, they went to one end of the trailer and Trooper Garvin went to the other and Garvin said he then heard Deputy Wade telling Nicholson to show his hands and crawl out. When Garvin got around to where they were, he said Nicholson was handcuffed on the ground. During a search before transport, Deputy Holt reported Nicholson had two smoking devices used for smoking marijuana.

The motorcycle was located behind a nearby house trailer.

A records check revealed Nicholson had never had a driver’s license and he had a prior conviction for driving without ever having had a driver’s license. He was also wanted on a warrant out of Clay County and another warrant out of Sullivan County.

Nicholson was booked into the Greene County Jail at 12:24 p.m. His bond was set at $2,500 surety with ten percent cash allowed, but he also had the other two outstanding warrants.

On Tuesday morning, June 15, when Nicholson appeared before Judge Dena Martin in Greene Superior Court via two-way video conference between the jail and the courtroom, Nicholson was charged with:  

• Resisting law enforcement – knowingly or intentionally forcibly resists, a Class A misdemeanor,

• Possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor, and

• Operating a vehicle without ever receiving a license, with a prior, a Class A misdemeanor.

At the end of the hearing, Nicholson told Judge Martin he wanted to plead guilty. Nicholson then had a discussion with Greene County Deputy Prosecutor Edward Charles Linneweber and they reached a verbal plea agreement. The initial hearing transitioned into a change of plea hearing.

Nicholson was convicted of the first count of resisting law enforcement and the other two counts were dismissed. He was sentenced to 60 days in the county jail with credit for three days already served. He’s now serving his sentence in the Greene County Jail.