Suspects who hit Southport officer with car had plans to steal phone, docs say
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Charging documents have provided additional details about suspects who allegedly injured a Southport police officer with a car outside IU Health Methodist Hospital.
Brandon Hayworth, 33, faces felony charges that include battery with a deadly weapon, battery resulting in bodily injury to a public safety officer and resisting law enforcement.
Christopher Thompson, 29, faces a misdemeanor charge of resisting law enforcement.
According to charging documents, a woman at the scene explained to Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers that she’d arranged to meet Hayworth and Thompson in the parking lot of the hospital on Aug. 9 because she believed they were the same people who had stolen her cellphone on Aug. 5 under the guise of purchasing it. Both meetings were arranged through an app called Letgo, used to buy and sell items.
The theft victim notified hospital security on the morning of Aug. 9 that she was expecting the suspects to come to the parking lot for the phony cellphone sale. When the red Buick driven by Hayworth, with Thompson as the passenger, drove into the parking lot, IU Methodist officers, including Southport Officer Paul McGann, approached the car to investigate. That’s when, according to multiple witnesses, Hayworth hit the gas, striking McGann. Witnesses told police that they heard a gunshot at the same time that the car took off.
The suspects drove away from the scene, but according to the theft victim, Hayworth and Thompson contacted her again to purchase the phone from another location, not realizing she’d been involved in the scene at the hospital. She agreed on an area near 46th Street and Arlington Avenue and notified police.
When IMPD officers attempted to pull over the vehicle in that area, Hayworth and Thompson jumped out of car and ran. Police found Hayworth in a shed and found Thompson down the street. Both suspects were taken to Eskenazi for minor injuries.
A search of the vehicle uncovered a spent bullet, which had partially shattered the windshield, and three cellphones.
When questioned, both Hayworth and Thompson admitted to having fled because they knew there were open warrants out against each of them. Hayworth also told police he’d been driving Thompson to various locations to steal phones from people he contacted using a fake app profile.
When asked about striking McGann, Hayworth denied any knowledge of it occurring. When detectives asked whether it was reasonable to assume someone standing right in front of a car would be struck by the car if it sped away, he admitted, “He probably could have been hit.”
McGann suffered neck and knee pain not considered life-threatening.
On the day of the incident, Officer Jim Gillespie with IMPD made the following statement: “We’re going to continue to come out no matter what because we’re here to serve and protect the community. No one is going harass us or try to scare us into not doing our job. We’re going to be here for the community in Indianapolis and Southport for as long as they need us.”
Hayworth and Thompson remain in the Marion County Jail. An initial hearing took place Monday, and a pretrial conference is scheduled for Oct. 11.
Never miss another Facebook post from WISH-TV
