Suspect accused of spitting in woman’s face

When police responded to a domestic incident, the suspect took off running. After a foot pursuit through the woods, he was apprehended then arrested.

Joseph Alan Grubb

Joseph Alan Grubb, 31, Bloomfield, was charged with battery by bodily waste - a Class B misdemeanor, criminal mischief - a Class B misdemeanor, and resisting law enforcement, knowingly or intentionally flees from law enforcement - a Class A misdemeanor, when he appeared in court for his initial hearing Thursday morning.

Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy Jordan Gooding, the investigating officer in this case, responded to the report of domestic dispute on McCullough Lane in eastern Greene County around 8:37 a.m. on Friday, November 23.

Before Deputy Gooding arrived, GCSD James Carpenter and Indiana State Police Trooper Caleb Garvin had also responded and arrived when Grubb was standing outside the residence. Gooding said when Grubb saw the police vehicles coming down the road, he took off running into the woods so Carpenter and Garvin took off after him on foot. After this pursuit, they returned to the residence with Grubb in custody.

The domestic situation was reported by a family friend who had gone to the residence to give a woman a ride to the store to buy formula for a baby. She said when they returned from the store, Grubb was angry and had threatened to beat the woman so the friend told him she wasn’t going to leave.

Grubb then allegedly spit in the friend’s face, grabbed the keys to her vehicle and tried to tear the key fob apart but that caused the vehicle’s alarm to go off so he went outside to try to shut the alarm off. That is when the friend called for help, followed by the appearance of law enforcement vehicles.

Deputy Gooding said after the chase, as Deputy Carpenter and Trooper Garvin got close to Carpenter’s patrol vehicle, Grubb stopped walking, fell to his knees and onto his stomach and tried to say Carpenter had thrown him onto the ground. Grubb then said he was hurt and wanted to go to the hospital.

According to Gooding, when Grubb was in the front seat of Carpenter’s patrol vehicle, Grubb put his muddy feet on the dash. When Gooding opened the door and told him to take his feet off the dash, Grubb said no, but when Gooding advised him to get his feet off the dash the second time, Grubb complied.

Grubb was booked into jail by Deputy Carpenter. His bond was set at $2,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. Grubb posted $200 cash and was released, served with a no-contact order and ordered to be in court last Thursday.