Suspect dies from self-inflicted gunshot wound
Batesville bank robbed at gunpoint
Wanda English Burnett - Editor

A masked man with a gun held up the MainSource Bank in Batesville, Monday afternoon, November 22, about 3:15 p.m. While the robber got away with an undisclosed amount of money, a turn of events shortly thereafter saw him turning a gun on himself.

The suspect was later identified as Jason A. Kellerman, 25, of Union, KY. Police do not believe Kellerman has any ties to Batesville.

According to David Abel, Batesville police officer responding to the robbery, he saw what he described as a "suspicious" vehicle with Kentucky license plates pulling out of the Quail Meadows Subdivision. When he tried to stop the vehicle, it fled northbound on SR 229, then turned onto Northside Drive, according to a press release from the Batesville Police Department. The driver, which was the bank robbery suspect, then pulled to the side of the road near the intersection of Northside and Arlington Drive. The officer then heard a gunshot and reported "shots fired." Upon further investigation the suspect was found to have shot himself in the head. He was the only person in the car.

Abel told the media he just had a "gut feeling" about the car when he pulled in behind it.

The suspect was transported to Margaret Mary Community Hospital and was later airlifted to the Method
ist Hospital in Indianapolis, where he is reported to have died about 6:00 p.m.

According to information from Detective Stan Holt of the Batesville Police Department, clothing items were located in the vehicle the suspect was driving that matched that of the bank robbery suspect. A quantity of money was also found in the car.

Bank employees reported the suspect came into the bank wearing a mask and sunglasses armed with a handgun. He was dressed in dark clothing and was described as a white male in his late teens or early twenties approximately 6' tall weighing 150 pounds.

After the robber took the money, he left the bank in a hurry and ran towards the Quail Meadows Subdivision. The stolen funds were later recovered according to bank personnel.

Officers immediately converged on the scene from several departments to assist Batesville officers. Officers from Milan, Sunman, and Oldenburg police departments responded, as well as those from the Indiana State Police, conservation officers and the Franklin County Sheriff's Department.

Rob Ewing, Crime Scene Investigator for the Indiana State Police, was on hand to preserve physical evidence.

"As a bank, we continually train our employees for situations such as this - hoping it will never happen,"
noted Dawn Schwering, senior vice president of MainSource Bank. "I would like to compliment the staff at our Batesville location for putting into practice exactly what they have been trained to do. Everyone did their part and followed procedures," concluded Schwering.