Highland County Sheriff's Report

Sheriff Donnie Barrera reports for the week of June 29-July 5, the Highland County Sheriff’s Office received 455 911 calls, answered 182 requests for service, dispatched 115 fire and EMS runs, took 44 offense reports and investigated four traffic crashes.

At 5:36 a.m. on June 30, a deputy was dispatched to the 5000 block of Panhandle Road to investigate a theft. The complainant was leaving for work when she discovered a laptop computer, scanner, credit cards and several other items had been stolen from her vehicle. Three other Panhandle Road residents also called the Sheriff’s Office that morning when they discovered items missing from their vehicles. Some of the cars were also damaged during the thefts. All incidents remain under investigation. Anyone with information about these crimes is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at (937) 840-6243.

A West New Market Road resident called the Sheriff’s Office at 5:14 p.m. on July 1 after returning home to find her house had been burglarized and a television had been stolen. A deputy responded to the scene and took a report. The incident remains under investigation.

On July 4 at 9:34 p.m., a Sinking Spring resident called the Sheriff’s Office to report a male outside her residence in a red truck trying to start trouble. A deputy responding to that location encountered the suspect vehicle on Sinking Spring Road, where a traffic stop was attempted. The suspect vehicle fled from at the area at a high rate of speed but was located, after a short pursuit, at a residence on Butler Road. Three suspects fled from the vehicle on foot into a wooded area, where they were apprehended by deputies. Adam E. Brunck and Charles Warner, Jr., both of Hillsboro, were transported to the Highland County Justice Center under a myriad of charges. A third suspect, a female, was also transported but not immediately charged with any crime. Additional charges may be filed at a later date.

Two Hillsboro men are facing felony charges after being arrested on July 5 at a US 50 residence where methamphetamine was being produced. A suspicious vehicle call to the Sheriff’s Office at 4:30 p.m. led deputies and investigators to the 2000 block of US 50, where Argentina R. Hill and James M. Rust were found to be in possession of illegal chemicals used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Both are being held on a $70,000 bond and were scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Hillsboro Municipal Court.