Brent Wellman Arrested; – Officials have identified the man killed in a shooting that led to a large manhunt and arrest in southeast Indiana.
According to Dearborn County Prosecutor Lynn Deddens, it all started last Wednesday, when the suspect, identified as Brent Wellman, 33, asked to drop property off at an ex-girlfriend’s house, saying he had no place to put his things.
The same day, Deddens said that Wellman called his ex-girlfriend asking to wish their child a happy birthday. His ex-girlfriend said she would not be home until late due to work but he could pick their child up from a relative in the morning.
Later that night, the ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend thought they had heard someone breaking into their home, but didn’t find anything. The boyfriend left for work that morning around 4:45 a.m. An hour later, a 911 call came in with a homeowner reporting a vehicle in front of their home along US 50 after hearing gunshots.
When the caller approached the car, he said he saw the driver and car covered in blood and another man in the backseat, crawling toward the front seat. Responding officers located the car and when the officer pulled up to the vehicle, he saw a man in the driver’s seat that appeared to be sweating.
When the officer asked what was going on, he said the driver shrugged and avoided eye contact and when the officer called for help, the driver sped away. Shortly after, a 911 caller reported the same vehicle had crashed down the road. When officers arrived, the vehicle was empty. They ran the license plate and found it was registered to a man named Dennis Adams Jr.
As more officers responded to the area, one officer found a shoe and as they approached a wooded area, found a man dead in the woods with what appeared to be a gunshot to his upper back/shoulder. The man was identified as 39-year-old Dennis Adams Jr.
During a search for a suspect, one of the responding officers identified the driver that fled from him as Brent Wellman. Wellman was later found near the crashed car, in a creek, wearing just his underwear and had “redness on his body.”
An autopsy on Adams Jr. found he died from injuries sustained from multiple gunshot wounds. Wellman had been charged with murder, resisting law enforcement and felony firearm enhancement.
He’s being held at the Dearborn County Law Enforcement Center. His initial hearing is Monday at 11:30 a.m.
