Citizens Academy learns investigations

0

Commentary by Anna Skinner

For the fourth Westfield Police Dept. Citizens’ Academy class, participants learned the inner workings of the criminal investigations division from Det. Greg Marlow. Marlow talked us through the division’s responsibilities, like suspicious deaths, sexual assault, child abuse, robbery, burglary, kidnapping, extortion, murder and more.

The division is led by Capt. John Lowes. Staff includes Lt. Brodie Houston, Det. Gregory Marlow, Det. Brett Bays, Det. Tony Howard, Criminalist Charles Blackford and Criminalist Alyssa Kautzman.

After explaining the division’s workings, Marlow walked the class through two real crimes – a burglary and a murder – both of which happened to the same victim in Westfield.

The case was that of Ethan Holley, 18, who was living in the Hamilton Square Apartments in 2004. Holley and a female friend were in the apartment when it was burglarized by three men.

According to Marlow, Holley was hesitant to provide full information but mentioned he did have a debt with the men who burglarized his home.

After locating the suspect’s car, detectives spoke with the suspects and reached out to Holley multiple times. Holley never returned the phone calls.

On Nov. 4, 2004, there was a shooting on Clubhouse Drive. Holley had been shot twice by two different guns and made it to Union Street, where he died. According to a witness, the argument began over seven grams of cocaine. The suspects fled the scene and crashed at 136th Street and Carey Road in Carmel.

Carmel Police Dept. responded because they were aware there had been a murder in Westfield. All the suspects were covered in blood. The two men who shot Holley, Noel Shuck and Jeremy Black, were sentenced. Shuck is serving a 65-year sentence and Black hanged himself in the Hamilton County Jail while awaiting trial in 2006. Richard Short, who also participated in the burglary, was sentenced to 40 years for a Class A felony burglary.

Thus far, this might have been my favorite Citizen’s Academy class. Marlow told us at the beginning he would detail two real cases for us, and throughout the presentation the class realized the two cases were connected, which was a surprise. With all of Marlow’s details regarding how the criminal investigations division handled the investigation, it was very interactive and educational. I was only 10 years old during the time of Holley’s murder, but some in the class said they remembered the incident.

This week, the class is touring the Grand Park Events Center and learning of WPD’s role in policing a large venue.


Current Morning Briefing Logo

Stay CURRENT with our daily newsletter (M-F) and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox for free!

Select list(s) to subscribe to



By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
Share.

Current Morning Briefing Logo

Stay CURRENT with our daily newsletter (M-F) and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox for free!

Select list(s) to subscribe to



By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact