Pubdate: Tue, 08 Feb 2005
Source: Courier-Journal, The (KY)
Copyright: 2005 The Courier-Journal
Contact:  http://www.courier-journal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/97
Author: Alex Davis
Note: Only publishes local LTEs

METH TIP RECEIVED BEFORE ABDUCTION

Girl Said To Have Seen Drug Activity

CROTHERSVILLE, Ind. -- In the weeks before the abduction and murder of
Katlyn "Katie" Collman, police received one report -- and perhaps a
second -- about suspected methamphetamine production at an apartment
complex linked to the 10-year-old's death.

Police have said they've been told that Katie was abducted after
witnessing meth activity at the complex.

Although the reported meth production was investigated, no arrests
were made, even though officials said there have been concerns for
years about possible drug activity at the apartments.

The situation reflects the difficulty authorities can face in
addressing the growing problem of meth production in rural areas.

Crothersville Police Chief Norman Ford said his department has broken
up at least four meth labs since October. But many drug producers move
their operations daily, he said, and tips often arrive a day or two
after production has taken place.

"We can't just sit there day after day," he said. "It's gone by
then."

Katie, a fourth-grader at Crothersville Elementary School, was
reported missing the night of Jan. 25 after she failed to return from
running an errand at a store three blocks from her house. Her body was
found five days later in a creek about 20 miles away.

Last week, Crothersville resident Charles Hickman, 20, was arrested
and charged with murder and criminal confinement in connection with
her death.

In an affidavit, police said Hickman told them that Katie was abducted
to scare her and keep her quiet about the meth activity she had
witnessed at the Penn Villa apartments in Crothersville.

At Katie's funeral Sunday, an uncle said she had gone to the apartment
to let its residents know their dog had been killed.

Ford confirmed yesterday that one of the department's two officers
paid a visit to Penn Villa about a week before Katie disappeared in
response to a complaint about alleged meth activity there.

A police officer and a drug-sniffing dog from nearby Austin also went
along, but Ford said the officers couldn't find probable cause to
search any of the complex's eight units.

Ford also said his officer told him that a Jackson County sheriff's
deputy had visited the apartment two weeks before in response to a
similar tip.

Jackson County Sheriff Jerry Hounshel said last night that he's unable
to confirm that.

Janice Hoene, who bought Penn Villa with her husband 14 months ago,
said in an interview that on Jan. 4, she received a tip about possible
meth production in the apartment that Katie apparently visited.

Shortly after receiving the tip, she said she called the Jackson
County Sheriff's Department, which relayed the information to the
Crothersville police. She said she subsequently received a call from
the town police saying that a visit to the apartments had been made
but that no one had been arrested.

Hounshel said he had no information about Hoene's call.

Top law-enforcement officials said, however, that the reports of
alleged drug activity at Penn Villa are part of a frustrating pattern
in the fight against meth in rural Indiana.

Hounshel said he planned to look into the reports that his department
had visited the complex, but he said that the odds of catching meth
producers are usually slim.

The department has struggled to keep pace with the growing presence of
meth in Jackson County, Hounshel said. He said he has 13 officers, and
they must patrol roads, run the jail, serve courts and conduct
investigations.

Terry Gray, a spokesman for Katie's family and an assistant chief at
the local fire department, said he was unaware that police made visits
to Penn Villa.

But Gray said it's frustrating that police weren't able to stop the
alleged drug activity linked to Katie's death.

He said, however, that he doesn't fault the police and that Katie's
parents also wouldn't second-guess the actions of the agencies involved.

William Nagle, a member of the Crothersville Town Board and a retired
schoolteacher, said he feels personally responsible for the
community's inability to stop what many call the drug's powerful punch.

"We know there is a very significant problem with methamphetamine in
this town," said Nagle, who was elected in 2003 and also served on the
three-member board from 1992 to 2000. "We've been in denial too long."

Gray is leading an effort to demolish the Penn Villa complex and build
a playground on the one-acre site as a memorial to Katie. An estimated
$400,000 will be needed to buy the apartments and build the
playground, he said.

Hoene, a real estate broker from Seymour, said she bought Penn Villa
in late 2003 for $235,000. It has been difficult to rent apartments
there, she said, and four of the eight units are vacant.

She said the tip she received in January was the first time she had
been aware that drug activity might have been taking place.

No one appeared to be home at the complex yesterday. Several windows
were broken, and one front door was propped open with a piece of brick.

Inside, a broken railing was lying on the stairs, and a light fixture
dangled from wires in the ceiling.

Hoene said the units rent for $400 and have two bedrooms and about 900
square feet of space.

The unit where the meth allegedly was being made had been rented to
its current tenants for only a couple of months, Hoene said.

If enough money is raised to purchase Penn Villa, Hoene said she has
tentatively agreed to sell the complex -- at a loss.

In addition to Hickman, two other people have been charged with making
false statements to investigators. Police said yesterday that the
investigation is continuing.
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MAP posted-by: Derek