TERRE HAUTE —
Three Vigo County residents facing criminal charges in connection with the July 2011 shooting death of a Terre Haute police officer have new court dates in Monroe County.
Meanwhile, two other defendants in the same incident may also have their cases venued there.
Defendants Jenny Torres, Charles Elkins and Jesse Padgett II appeared in Monroe Circuit Court on Aug. 31 where their cases were venued after their defense attorneys argued that public outrage and pretrial publicity have made it unlikely they would receive fair trials in Vigo County.
Defendant Heather Elkins also had a change of venue for her case approved for Monroe Circuit Court, and the attorney for Roberta Utterback also has filed a change of venue request in her case. A hearing on Utterback’s request for is set for Sept. 20 in Vigo Superior Court 5.
Both women remain in custody in the Vigo County Jail. Bail for Heather Elkins is set at $25,000 cash only, bail for Utterback at $5,000 cash only.
During the Aug. 31 hearing for Torres, Padgett and Charles Elkins, new pretrial conference dates for the defense and prosecution teams were all set for Dec. 14 in Vigo County with Monroe Judge Marc R. Kellams presiding. Trial dates have not been announced.
Charles Elkins and Torres both remain in the Vigo County Jail. The bail for Torres is set at $25,000 surety or $2,500 cash. The bail for Charles Elkins is $40,000 surety. Padgett already has posted $2,500 cash bail to be released from jail.
All three face class-D felony and class-A misdemeanor charges of resisting law enforcement and class-B misdemeanor charges of visiting a common nuisance. Torres, Elkins and Padgett were at a house on North Eighth Street in Terre Haute when a federal fugitive task force attempted to serve an arrest warrant on a man in the home, Shaun Seeley. Terre Haute Police Officer Brent Long died in an exchange of gunfire with Seeley, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after killing Long.
Charles Elkins, Torres and Padgett were detained at the scene of the shooting, along with Utterback and Heather Elkins. All five were later charged for their alleged actions in both federal and Vigo County courts. All have received federal prison sentences stemming from federal charges filed in the case and now have only local cases pending.
The charges against Heather Elkins are possession of methamphetamine, maintaining a common nuisance, receiving stolen property, resisting arrest and possession of paraphernalia. Utterback has been charged with assisting a criminal and resisting law enforcement. She also has other criminal cases stemming from separate allegations.
Reporter Lisa Trigg can be reached at 812-231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @TribStarLisa.
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