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I N D I A N A D A I LY S T U D E N T | F R I D AY, M A R C H 7, 2 0 1 4 | I D S N E W S . C O M
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4 SWAT officers shot during Indy drug raid Four SWAT officers were shot Wednesday while investigating a drug operation at a residence in Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Star reported. Police found $120,000 in cash inside the house and potentially stolen items valued
EDITORS: REBECCA KIMBERLY & MARY KATHERINE WILDEMAN REGION@IDSNEWS.COM
between $500,000 and $750,000 in the garage, according to the article. Three of the officers were hospitalized, but none sustained life-threatening injuries. The suspected shooter was killed in the shoot-out, and five others were arrested.
Meat cutter falls in competition Council members BY EMILY ERNSBERGER emelerns@indiana.edu
A local meat cutter showed off his skills in a national competition for the seventh year in a row last week. Prospero Sotelo, a meat cutter at the Bloomington Texas Roadhouse, attended semi-final rounds of the National Meat Cutting Challenge in Kissimmee, Fla. “The National Meat Cutters Challenge is the only competition of its kind and includes meat cutters from across the nation,” Brent Huntington, Texas Roadhouse product coach manager, said in a press release. This was Sotelo’s seventh time in a row competing, but he did not make it past the semi-finals this year. “I am the No. 1 meat cutter in my restaurant,” Sotelo said in an email. “Every meat cutter in each store gets a chance to participate if they are considered full-time employees.” Sotelo has worked at Texas Roadhouse for 13 years. The event is a competition for Texas Roadhouse meat cutters to be judged on the quality and quickness of their cutting. Competitors slice two sirloin, one filet and one ribeye steak. “They give us a certain amount of time to steak all of the different muscles,” Sotelo said about his strategies for
the competition. “I always use all of the time they give me to make sure my cuts meet the specifications.” The winner — whoever cuts the most steaks with the best quality cut in the least amount of time — receives $20,000 and the title of Meat Cutter of the Year. Sotelo won the grand prize in 2006. He said he spent some of his winnings on his family and saved the rest. The 35-year-old Bloomington resident hand cuts every steak served at Bloomington’s Texas Roadhouse. “I learned everything at Texas Roadhouse,” he said. “I started cutting meat soon after I was hired, and it is something I enjoy as a job and as a hobby.” Nick Workman, managing partner of the Bloomington Texas Roadhouse, said Sotelo is a dedicated worker. “It’s awesome,” Workman said. “He is here every morning in our 30-degree cooler cutting steak.” To prepare, Sotelo said he practiced at work each day, even on his days off. Workman said Sotelo is the only employee from the Bloomington Texas Roadhouse to compete in the national competition. A series of regional competitions took place prior to the national events. Semifinals took place in Kissimmee, Fla., narrowing the
propose hunters cull Griffy deer BY KATE STARR kastarr@indiana.edu
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Prospero Sotelo, a meat cutter at the Bloomington Texas Roadhouse, stands by a poster with his name on it. Sotelo competed in the National Meat Cutters Challenge for the seventh time this year.
Challenge is part of the Meat Hero program, created to recognize daily efforts of Texas Roadhouse meat cutters, a release for the event said. This year’s competition is in partnership with A1. Texas Roadhouse donates meat used in the competition to people experiencing homelessness.
competition down to 24 meat cutters. The top eight will compete April 27 in Amelia Island, Fla. Sotelo said his favorite part of the competition is meeting other meat cutters. “It is nice to talk about my job with people who do the same thing,” he said. The National Meat Cutting
3 arrested in Lawrence County murder BY DENNIS BARBOSA dbarbosa@indiana.edu @DennisBarbosa86
When police found Rodney Allender’s body Feb. 27, he was bound by duct tape on his garage floor, blood pooling from his head. Distinct, bloody foot prints were also found at the scene in Allender’s Lawrence County home. Allender, 43, had a gunshot wound and it was clear he was beaten. An autopsy would later reveal blunt force trauma as the cause of death. On Saturday, two Bedford, Ind., men and one juvenile were arrested on preliminary charges of murder and robbery. Lawrence County police found the house in “complete disarray as if it had been ransacked,” according to court documents. The couches were flipped, a door ripped from its hinges, desks emptied, papers strewn about and two safes opened and emptied. On Feb. 28 an autopsy determined Allender died from blunt force trauma, with multiple injuries to his head, chest, abdomen, leg and left arm. Austin M. Curtis, 18, was arrested Saturday in Lawrence County, Ind. Taylor Flynn, 19, and Dillon Hicks, 16, were arrested the later
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Rodney Allender was found dead in his garage on Feb. 27. Two Bedford men and a juvenile were arrested on preliminary charges of murder.
that day in Lawrence County, Ohio, by Ironton, Ohio, police. On Feb. 28 police received reports from juveniles who went to Bedford North Lawrence High School with Curtis, Flynn and Hicks, according to court documents. One juvenile told police that Hicks recruited him to join them in a robbery of a man who lived alone with no neighbors off State Road 446. Another juvenile told police Flynn admitted to going with Hicks and Curtis to rob “some big guy who lived out in the middle of nowhere.” Police investigators spoke with Curtis and received his permission to examine the bottom of his shoes. Photographs of Curtis’ shoes were compared and matched to
the footprints found at the scene of the murder. Detectives obtained a search warrant for Curtis’ shoes and the presence of blood was found on the bottoms and shoelaces. After police arrested Curtis for murder and robbery, he admitted that someone told him Allender had a large sum of money, according to court documents. He said he checked out the house on more than one occasion with Hicks and Dillon. Curtis told police Flynn dressed up like a girl and walked to Allender’s house and asked to use his phone. When Allender opened the door Flynn shot him in the leg, Curtis hit him in the leg with a bat and Hicks shot him in the face with an air soft
gun. Allender tried to defend himself with a broom stick, but the three suspects bound him with duct tape. Curtis told police Allender eventually gave them the combination to the safes where they found money and guns, which they stole. A juvenile spoke to Hicks on the phone Thursday. Hicks reportedly said he “prayed to God the guy’s not dead.” Dillon and Hicks are being held in Lawrence County, Ohio, awaiting extradition, Indiana Lawrence County Sheriff Sam Craig said. Curtis is being held in Lawrence County, Ind., without bond. Allender’s funeral will take place today at 1 p.m. Services will happen at the Funeral Chapel on East Third Street in Bloomington. The burial will be performed at Duncan Cemetery in Belmont. More than 160 supporters have raised almost $7,000 for Allender’s funeral expenses, surpassing their goal of $5,000. Supporters believe he did not have life insurance. Allender was a man who loved his community, family, logging and most of all his son, according to the online fundraiser web page. “Rodney was a great man who would’ve given the shirt off his back to anyone in need,” the page read.
If two members of Bloomington’s City Council get their way, sharpshooting hunters will start killing deer around Griffy Lake. Council members Dave Rollo and Andy Ruff are in the process of drafting an ordinance to address deer overabundance at Griffy Lake Nature Preserve. The ordinance permits the use of sharp shooting to control the situation. Experts, not members of the public, would be hunting the deer. The Parks Board of Commissioners, which oversees the parks, would manage the deer cull along with the Parks and Recreation Department. Both departments would determine the specific organizations that would be hired to sharp shoot. They are looking for individuals with knowledge of wildlife biology. The deer population has adversely affected a number of plant and animal species, and threaten to severely harm Griffy’s ecosystem, Rollo said. “The plants should rebound in number in diversity,” Rollo said. “It’s going to positively affect those organisms that have been adversely affected.” Griffy Nature Preserve covers about 1,180 acres and has more than 565 terrestrial plant species, almost 100 small mammal species, almost 160 bird species and about 50 reptile and amphibian species, according to the 2008 Griffy Lake Preserve Master Plan. People have removed the original apex predators at Griffy, like wolves
and cougars, which used to keep the deer population in check. When deer were reintroduced into Griffy in the 1930s, there were not enough natural predators to control their numbers, Rollo said. “The American Veterinary Association says sharp shooting done by experts is a humane means of controlling deer populations, so we have to act as sort of an apex predator because the natural ones are gone,” Rollo said. Rollo and Ruff determined sharp shooting as the best method because it is both effective and humane. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources does not permit the use of contraceptives or a “trap and relocate” method to control deer populations, Rollo said. Contraceptives are expensive and do not work in an open system because deer migrate out, Rollo said. He also pointed out that in “trap and relocate” situations, 60 percent of deer die from cardiomyopathy. Rollo said the city will be able to determine the effects of the process early on if the ordinance is passed. If the process is successful, wildlife teams will find an increase in the number of plant species and observe a number of indicator species through a variety of sampling methods. Rollo is waiting to hear back from stakeholders about any language adjustments, but the finalized ordinance should be available to the public in a few weeks, he said.
Man arrested at Wells Library after claiming presence of “snow bomb” FROM IDS REPORTS
A man told security there was a “snow bomb” in the Monroe County Public Library as he was escorted out Monday. Barak Anthony Jayne, 45, also known as Barry, was arrested Monday for claiming there was a bomb behind the reference desk, Bloomington Police Department Sgt. Joe Crider said. Bloomington police responded to a report of a disturbance at the
library of a man yelling and screaming. Jayne, a Bloomington resident, has a history of misbehavior in the library, Crider said. Police found nothing behind the desk and the building was not evacuated. Barak faces preliminary charges of intimidation, a class D felony. He paid a $500 bond with $2,000 surety and was released Tuesday.
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SLAV-T 230 TOPICS SLAVIC LITS & CULTURES (3 CR)
SLAV-R 353 CENTRAL EUROPEAN CINEMA (3 CR)
VT: Space, Culture, Identity-C. EUR 37060, 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., MW TOPIC: Space, Culture, & Identity in Central Europe
28346 RSTR, 4:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m, MW Attendance mandatory for film screenings COLL (CASE) Global Civ & Culture credit COLL (CASE) A&H Breadth of Inquiry credit
COLL (CASE) Global Civ & Culture credit COLL (CASE) A&H Breadth of Inquiry credit
Indiana University Slavic Languages & Literature Department