Wanda English Burnett - Editor

Ripley County Sheriff Bill Davison made another check on his Ten Most Wanted list last week when John D. Elkins, 38, of Lexington, KY, was brought into custody at the Ripley County Jail on December 1.

A warrant for the arrest of Elkins had been issued in July. The charge is Operating a Vehicle With a .08 Blood Alcohol Content Causing Death, a Class C Felony.

The charges stem from an accident that occurred on June 17. According to Ripley Publishing Co. files, Elkins was driving the vehicle when it crashed on Highway 46 in the Sunman area, killing Gregory Peters, 42, of Batesville, who was a front seat passenger. Another passenger, Christina Brown of Greensburg was injured in the accident. Both Elkins and Peters were flown by PHI Dove Flight to the University of Cincinnati for injuries sustained in the crash.

Sgt. Marvin Smith of the Ripley County Sheriff’s Department responded to the accident at about 4:41 a.m. where he said he smelled alcohol and saw several containers of beer at the site.

According to the Probable Cause Affidavit filed on July 7 in the Ripley County Clerk’s Office, one witness stated Elkins had been drinking earlier in the evening before the accident. Another witness said Elkins and others were also smoking marijuana before the accident.

Elkins was arrested in Cincinnati, recently on a misdemeanor charge and the warrant from Ripley County, according to Sheriff Davison. He appeared in Ripley County Circuit Court Tuesday, December 5, at 9:30 a.m. where his bond was set at $200,000, meaning it will take $20,050 cash to bond him out. He is presently incarcerated in the Ripley County Jail.