La’Ron Ball, 19, Indianapolis
NEW PALESTINE — Officials with the New Palestine Police Department used drones to locate a serious violent felon after the man took off running into a cornfield following a routine traffic stop.
La’Ron Ball, 19, Indianapolis, is in custody after officials say he took off fleeing on foot from a traffic stop while in possession of a firearm late last week.
According to a press release from the NPPD shortly after 10 p.m. Nov. 8, officials with the NPPD performed a traffic stop on U.S. 52 for a vehicle that had failed to yield the right of way. During the traffic stop, the passenger, later identified as Ball, fled on foot and officers chased him into a nearby cornfield.
Ball had been on the run from law enforcement for over a year and gave officers a false name in an attempt to conceal his identity, officials said. Ball had several active violent felony warrants for armed robbery, criminal confinement, and burglary.
Responding officers from around the county set up a perimeter around the cornfield and put drones to good use. The drone pilots were utilized from the Greenfield Police Department (GPD) with the help from the Sugar Creek Township Fire Department to locate the suspect in the field.
After being located by the drones, officers gave commands for Ball to come out of the cornfield peacefully they said, but Ball did not follow the orders. Ball attempted to further elude officers so police entered the cornfield and apprehended Ball with the assistance of the drones and were able to take him into custody.
Ball is currently sitting in the Hancock County Jail under the charges of being a serious violent felon in possession of a firearm, which is a Level 4 felony. Ball is also facing resisting law enforcement charges, a Class A misdemeanor and false informing charges, also a Class A misdemeanor.
Ball was scheduled to be in Hancock County Superior Court 1 on Tuesday where Judge D.J. Davis was set to hold his initial hearing. Davis set a cash bond of $10,000 and appointed the Hancock County Public Defenders office to handle the case for Ball. Ball is due back in court for a pre-trial conference Wednesday, Dec. 6.
Officials from the NPPD said they would like to thank multiple agencies for their assistance and teamwork in apprehending someone they called a “violent felon.” Agencies assisting included the GPD, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, Sugar Creek Township Fire Department and the Hancock County 911 Center.
