A St. Joseph County police officer and two others have been charged with insurance fraud after authorities learned of a plan they made almost six years ago to falsify the details of a car crash.
Patrolman Gary L. Newcomb, 35, his former wife, RaLynne Newcomb, 38, and James M. Miller, 32, were each charged Friday with one count of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, a Class C felony.
The charges stem from an Aug. 31, 2003, incident where Newcomb allegedly crashed a car that Miller had rented. Newcomb was in the process of demonstrating his recently learned Emergency Vehicle Operator Course maneuvers, court documents say.
Because Newcomb had reportedly been drinking before the crash and the trio were worried about liability and professional ramifications, the three allegedly decided not to report the true circumstances of the accident, according to a court affidavit.
Instead, Newcomb, his then-wife — who had been a front-seat passenger — and Miller agreed they would report that it had been Miller who was driving and that the accident happened when he swerved to miss a deer.
The Newcombs also promised to pay Miller for any expenses and increased insurance premiums related to the crash, according to court documents.
The untrue version of events was later reiterated to an Indiana State Police officer as well as to Miller’s insurance company, Farm Bureau Insurance. The company had paid Hertz Corp., which owned the vehicle, more than $17,000 for the damaged car, according to the affidavit.
Miller’s insurance company later told authorities that they would not have paid anything on the claim had they known someone other than Miller was driving the rented vehicle.
In an interview with Indiana State Police, Gary Newcomb reportedly admitted that he was driving the car at the time of the crash and that it was not caused by a deer, but by his attempt at the driving maneuvers he had learned at the police academy.
When reached late afternoon Friday, county police spokesman Sgt. Bill Redman said he had just recently learned of the charges and that Newcomb would be placed on administrative leave with pay, pending an internal investigation.
Newcomb has been a county police officer since 2002 and currently works as a road patrolman.
Bonds for the Newcombs and Miller were each set at $1,000. Redman said Newcomb was planning to turn himself in Friday. None of the three had yet done so as of late Friday afternoon.
Alicia Gallegos
http://www.wsbt.com/
