A deputy who encountered an intoxicated man sitting in a ditch in the middle of the night, who could not walk unassisted and was confused about which direction he should go to get home, the deputy determined the man was a danger to himself and could end up face first in the dirt. The man was taken the hospital for a medical check then to jail for public intoxication.

Perry J. Morrison, 48, Linton, was arrested by Deputy Camron Frye of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department early Friday, January 28.

Around 1:45 a.m. last Friday, Deputy Frye, the investigating officer, and Deputy Kelly Hutchens were dispatched to an area just outside Linton after a caller said a possibly intoxicated man had just tried to get into his van parked in an area of 2nd Street outside the city limits. The caller said when he activated the panic alarm on the vehicle, the man put his hands up then tried to get in a second time. He said the man was wearing a brown Carhartt jacket with a black hoodie underneath that was pulled up on his head. He also said the man left walking eastbound on Base Road, stumbling down the middle of the road.

While they were on the way, dispatch advised the deputies that the suspect was then on the railroad tracks where he was walking back and forth.

LPD Officer Janzen Franklin, who also arrived in the area to assist, talked to the caller then advised the suspect was possibly headed toward Jay Bird Lane.

When the two deputies and the LPD officer all arrived in the area and were looking for the suspect, Officer Franklin found a man, whose clothing matched the description, lying in the ditch on the south side of Base Road and County Road 1125 West. When the two deputies got there, the suspect was sitting up in the ditch.

The suspect was later identified as Perry Morrison who allegedly had a hard time answering questions but admitted he had been drinking – about a bottle of liquor. He said he lived on 9th Street in Linton. He thought he was about five blocks away from his house and he said he’d had a hard night. He was actually about 2.3 miles away from his home.

The time at that point was close to 2:30 a.m. when Morrison said he left his house around 9 p.m. and had just been walking around. Morrison was asked several more questions and when asked how he would get from where he was to his home, he pointed to the southeast in a direction that would lead him away from Linton and into a sparsely populated area of woods and open fields.  

Deputy Hutchens administered a portable breath test to Morrison and reported he blew a .272 BrAC.

Deputy Frye informed Morrison that he thought he was in a condition that did not make it safe for him to be outside and that they were taking him to Greene County General Hospital for a medical check and then he would be going to jail. He told Morrison that Morrison didn’t know where he was and if he were to be left there, he could end up in the woods, face first in the dirt.

Morrison required a lot of assistance to get to a patrol vehicle then into Greene County General. Once at the hospital, Deputy Frye told Morrison the reasons why he was a danger to himself and Morrison allegedly said he understood and admitted he probably did drink too much. After he was medically cleared and on the way to jail, Morrison allegedly said he was an alcoholic and had been drinking since he was seven years old.

Morrison was booked into the Greene County Jail at 3:51 a.m. with bond set at $500 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He posted $50 and was released later the same day.

Morrison is scheduled to be in Greene Superior Court for his initial hearing this Thursday, February 3, to face a charge of public intoxication that endangers life, a Class B misdemeanor.