***MEDIA ADVISORY***

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 13, 2014

AFTER JURY SEATED AND SWORN, ANDREW ADKINS PLEADS GUILTY TO BATTERING FORMER FAMILY FRIEND WITH A KNIFE

Media Contact: Curtis T. Hill, Jr. (574) 296-1888

Defendant, Andrew Adkins, was charged with one count of Battery by Means of a Deadly Weapon, a Class C felony, on August 15, 2012. Adkins, with the intent of stealing a television set, held the victim at knife point and used the knife to make long scratch marks along her neck and chest.

The victim and her family allowed Adkins to live with them for several weeks during 2012, and he was asked to leave after wearing out his welcome. A couple weeks later, Adkins showed up at the victim’s residence demanding a television set that did not belong to him. The victim who is medically confined to a wheelchair managed to wedge the chair into the front doorway of the residence so as not to allow Adkins access to the home. Adkins proceeded to take out a small pocket knife, hold it to the victim’s neck, and then scrape it along her neck and chest. Adkins left after hearing a friend of the victim’s coming down the stairs of the residence. Although the physical injuries have healed, the victim now suffers from anxiety, a sleep disorder, and emotional issues related to the incident. A jury of twelve people and two alternates was seated and sworn on the afternoon of August 12, 2014, at which time the Court took a recess for the day due to an emergency medical condition of the defendant.

On the morning of August 13, 2014, after a long consultation with his defense attorney, Adkins entered a plea of guilty as charged with no agreement as to sentencing. Sentencing is scheduled for Monday, September 29, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. Adkins is facing between two and eight years in the Indiana Department of Correction. The offense is non-suspendible, meaning the defendant must serve an executed term of at least two years.

This case was tried by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kathleen Gring in Elkhart County Superior Court 1.

****“Under Indiana law, all persons arrested for a criminal offense are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.” ****