She felt her home shake, and Melissa Farmer didn’t know what was happening.
The Carmel resident of more than two decades then discovered that an SUV had crashed into her house, breaking windows, taking out the deck and privacy fence and causing damage to neighboring homes.
Since the crash around 10:30 p.m. on May 26, Farmer has thought about how she, her husband or their dog could have been hurt. Carmel police believe they have arrested the driver who crashed into Farmer’s house, and the suspect is accused of stealing the vehicle from a father and daughter at a nearby gas station before speeding away and crashing into the home off Spring Mill Road.
The suspect is being held on a $1 million bond and is facing 26 charges in connection with the theft of the Toyota Highlander and subsequent crash. But his arrest, and criminal history, have ignited a conversation about the criminal justice system in Central Indiana — with Carmel Mayor Sue Finkam taking the lead this time.
“Carmel and other donut county residents pay the price when repeat offenders in Marion County cycle through the system without accountability,” Finkam said in a post on X after the suspect’s arrest. “This cannot be our new normal. It’s time Marion County does their part and holds criminals accountable.”
The Carmel mayor, in a follow-up post, said Marion County was “exporting its crime” to surrounding counties. She has pointed to the suspect’s criminal history, which includes six cases in Marion County that are pending, and asked why he wasn’t in jail at the time of the carjacking in her city.
Since 2015, the suspect has faced charges in about 40 different cases across Indiana, with many involving low-level felony charges, such as theft by a defendant with a prior conviction or auto theft. He’s also faced some drug and resisting arrest charges.
The suspect’s court-appointed attorney and family declined to comment for this article, and he’s being held in the Hamilton County Jail. Meanwhile, plenty of Republican leaders have backed Finkam and are calling attention to the suspect’s arrest and criminal history. The criticism comes at a time when Indy’s leaders are already dealing with a separate public safety problem: Last week’s fatal shooting of a 23-year-old Indiana University graduate whose killer remains at large.
“Ryan Mears puts criminals ahead of law-abiding citizens and law enforcement, putting all of Central Indiana at risk,” U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, said in a post on X about the Carmel incident. “Thankfully, we have leaders like Carmel Mayor Sue Finkam who are tough on crime and proudly back the blue.”
Mears is the Marion County prosecutor, a Democrat who is up for reelection in November. The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office has defended itself from criticism by Republican leaders outside of the county.
“Crime is not solely a Marion County issue — it is a Central Indiana issue,” Michael Leffler, communications director for the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, said via email. “The defendant in the case cited by Mayor Finkam has a Carmel address and in the last seven years, has faced charges in at least six Central Indiana Counties, including Monroe, Bartholomew, Tippecanoe, Marion, Hancock and now Hamilton Counties.”
The Republican running for prosecutor in Marion County is Speedway Clerk-Treasurer Philip Foust, a former deputy prosecutor in Indianapolis. Foust also weighed in on the carjacking in Carmel.
“This is not normal,” Foust said in his post on X. “This is not acceptable. But it is the direct result of failed leadership in Marion County. As leaders and law enforcement throughout Central Indiana will tell you, when Marion County is soft on crime, families across Central Indiana pay the price.”
Finkam, a Republican, in an interview with IndyStar, said she isn’t bringing attention to the arrest or carjacking for political reasons.
“I’ve been very careful all along to not name one group or individual I think is responsible,” Finkam said. “I don’t know if it’s prosecutors, judges, jail issues or legislation that needs changed. I don’t want there to be crime spreading to other counties.”
To illustrate her point, Finkam shared statistics showing that since 2023, almost 54% of adults arrested by Carmel police had Marion County addresses. And nearly 40% of the inmates in Hamilton County’s jail currently are from Marion County, she added.
“I want to educate our residents and let them know I think we have a major problem and it’s repeat offenders not being incarcerated and having an opportunity to continually commit crimes against Central Indiana residents,” Finkam told IndyStar. “It starts with Indianapolis leadership coming together.”
Finkam has offered to co-chair a regional mayor’s meeting on the topic of crime and repeat offenders in Central Indiana with Democratic Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett. She sent a letter to Hogsett offering to assist, and it appears the Indianapolis mayor may be open to the idea.
“Mayor Hogsett always welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with regional mayors in building on our city’s significant decline in crime over the last five years,” the mayor’s Chief of Staff Chris Bailey said in a statement. “We look forward to this discussion and continuing the work to make meaningful progress that improves the safety, and feelings of safety, for every community member in all of our Central Indiana communities.”
Bailey, the former chief of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, said that Indianapolis has seen a significant decline in crime over the last five years, with criminal homicides down roughly 53%, and that public safety has always been Hogsett’s top priority.
Why was the man accused in Carmel carjacking out of jail?
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office pointed out that most recently, the suspect resolved a theft case in Hancock County through a plea agreement. That was just four days before the alleged carjacking and crash in Carmel. Leffler also addressed what happened in the several cases the suspect has pending in Marion County.
“Marion County Prosecutors sought to hold (the suspect) in custody and had a no-bond hold in place,” Leffler said via email. “Earlier this year, a judge removed that hold over Marion County Prosecutors’ objections so the defendant could resolve a case in Hancock County. Marion County Prosecutors’ position was that the no-bond hold should have remained in place and the defendant should have remained in custody.”
For Farmer, whose home was damaged in the crash that the suspect has been arrested in connection with, she is thankful that her insurance company has been responsive, and she’s found support from family and neighbors.
“It’s all unfortunate but I don’t have any answers on how to deal with the criminal justice system,” Farmer said when asked about the discussion sparked by the arrest. “There are problems, obviously, but I certainly don’t have the answer. There’s got to be some ways to make changes.”
Carmel carjacking occurred at gas station on Illinois Street
The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Manuel Ettress, is facing 26 charges in Hamilton County, including robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, kidnapping while hijacking a vehicle, battery by means of a deadly weapon, leaving the scene of an accident, criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon, auto theft and public intoxication.
Carmel police were dispatched to the carjacking at a gas station off Illinois Street and found a 2006 Toyota Highlander had been stolen from a Carmel man and his adult daughter, who were putting air in the vehicle’s tires, according to the probable cause affidavit for Ettress’ arrest.
The father had left the driver’s door open, while his daughter was in the passenger seat. A man got into the driver’s seat and the daughter screamed. Then the father tried to pull the man out of the car, the probable cause affidavit reads.
The man put the car in drive, ran over the father’s foot and the daughter got out of the car. The driver’s door struck the father, dragging him on the ground as the man drove the vehicle in reverse quickly, according to the affidavit.
The father had open wounds on his hands, arms and legs and was taken to a hospital. A bystander saw the Toyota Highlander speed from the gas station then called 911 and tried to follow it as it traveled recklessly and at high speeds away, the affidavit reads.
A few minutes later, police received a call that a Toyota Highlander had crashed into a home north of the gas station. The vehicle was empty, but officers found drug paraphernalia inside, according to the affidavit.
The suspect left the scene of the crash on foot then waved down a fire truck before he was detained by police. The suspect, later identified as Ettress, told an officer he was the driver of the car at the time it crashed, the affidavit reads.
Hamilton County Prosecutor criticizes Marion County Prosecutor
Almost 50% of high-level and violent criminal cases filed in Hamilton County this year involve suspects with Indianapolis addresses, said Hamilton County Prosecutor Joshua Kocher.
The prosecutor looked at murders, reckless homicides, robberies, arsons, burglaries, residential entries and firearms charges to compile the statistic.
“Indianapolis needs to be a safe place for people to live, visit, go to sporting events, eat a meal and go to work,” Kocher said. “A lot of that starts with the prosecutor’s office in Marion County. We don’t just want to stop crime from spreading to Hamilton County. We want to stop it in Marion County.”
Kocher suggests more aggressive prosecution of all types of crimes and holding suspects accused of violent crimes in jail before trial.
“There’s the broken windows philosophy in school of thought for criminal justice,” Kocher said. “If you fix the broken windows and the little things, it creates a more law-abiding society. When you allow the little things like graffiti and property to be damaged and not fixed then that leads to more serious crime.”
He added that the state legislature could assist in helping to pay for prosecutors’ salaries. Lawmakers should also re-work the rules surrounding sentences so that there’s mandatory time served in jail or prison in more cases for certain charges, Kocher said.
Leffler, of the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, said it’s important to remember that decisions regarding pretrial detention are made by a judge.
“Marion County Prosecutors often file motions for increased, modified, or revoked bond when public safety concerns, repeated noncompliance, or other factors warrant additional review by the court,” Leffler said via email. “Ultimately however, bond decisions rest solely with the Judge.”
And prosecutors across Indiana face challenges in resolving repeated low-level offenses, such as in the Carmel carjacking suspect’s cases, because of limitations from the Indiana legislature and the criminal code, Leffler added.
“Repeat low-level offending is a challenge facing localities nationwide,” he said via email. “The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office has consistently advocated for more tools for prosecutors when it comes to bond decisions, sentencing options, and intervention strategies. We welcome serious conversations about meaningful solutions. Those discussions are only productive when they begin with complete facts and context.”
Scott Fadness, the Republican mayor of Fishers, said this isn’t a new conversation.
“It’s top of mind for every resident, whether you are a resident of Fishers, Indianapolis, Carmel or any of these communities,” Fadness told IndyStar.
The Fishers mayor said it’s important to acknowledge collaboration across the region that’s already ongoing in an effort to address crime, and pointed to the Indiana Crime Guns Task Force.
“It is one of the best examples of putting our egos aside, setting down political boundaries, rolling up our sleeves and getting to work,” Fadness said.
The Fishers mayor added that leaders from across Indiana have had conversations on addressing crime before and plan to do so again at an upcoming Central Indiana Regional Development Authority meeting.
“What we really need to do is level set,” Fadness told IndyStar. “All the rhetoric on any side of this conversation needs to be set aside. Let’s deal with the facts of the situations. Let’s learn from the individuals doing the work and try to understand better what we can do to support them and ensure the future of Central Indiana is one that is safer than it is today.”
Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @Jake_Allen19. Click here to get Hamilton County news sent straight to your inbox and subscribe to the IndyStar North newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: After carjacking, Carmel mayor blames crime on Indy. Here’s the facts behind the case
Reporting by Jake Allen, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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