Man charged for Greenwood kidnapping, vehicle theft
GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) — An Indianapolis man faces charges in Johnson County after being accused of kidnapping a woman and stealing a truck.
Prosecutors have charged 18-year-old Carmelo Bertram in the case.
Officers with the Greenwood Police Department were called to the Polo Run apartments near Fry Road and U.S. 31 on July 17 after reports of shots fired.
Officers arrived and spoke to a man who said he had accompanied a female friend to her apartment because she feared running into Bertram, with whom she’d had issues in the past. He said he went into her apartment to see if anyone was inside while she waited outside. When he was walking back out, he said he saw Bertram, who pointed a gun at him. The man said he went back into the apartment, and then, believing Bertram was trying to come inside, he then fired four shots into the door of the apartment.
Officers later spoke with the female involved.
She said while she was waiting outside in her friend’s truck, Bertram arrived and pulled her out of the truck. She said Bertram noticed a gun in the truck, took it, then went up the stairs of the building. She said she then heard shots fired, then saw Bertram run back down the stairs.
She said he got into the truck with her, pointed a gun at her, then drove off. She said they drove for a bit, got into another vehicle, then he dropped her off as Bertram spoke to police on the phone.
Bertram later met with police to discuss the incident, according to court documents.
According to investigators, Bertram told police he was going to the apartment to get some of his belongings. He said he saw the man with the gun, so he ran back down the stairs to get the gun he had noticed in the truck. Police say he admitted to stealing the truck.
Bertram was arrested and then charged on July 21.
He faces felony charges of kidnapping while armed, criminal confinement with a deadly weapon, pointing a firearm and auto theft. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of conversion.
Online court records do not yet list any upcoming court dates.
In late June, Bertram was also charged for carrying a handgun without a license in Hancock County.
