Local News

Absent Molester Grabbed in Tennessee

(La Porte, IN) - David Powers, II, didn’t show up for his child molesting trial in La Porte Circuit Court, but the trial was held anyway, and a jury of his peers found him guilty.

 

A few weeks later, the suspect was taken into custody in eastern Tennessee. Powers, 50, will be returned to La Porte County at some point soon to be sentenced. He’s currently being held in the Rhea County Jail between Chattanooga and Knoxville.

 

The guilty verdict was rendered in May, and a bench warrant for his arrest by Judge Tom Alevizos was issued.

 

La Porte County Sheriff John Boyd said Powers contacted the sheriff’s office on June 4 and, during a more-than-one-hour conversation with a jail officer, was arrested by authorities in Tennessee.

 

Boyd wasn’t sure why Powers contacted local authorities, but some fugitives turn themselves in to relieve the stress and paranoia caused by not knowing if police were about to grab them.

 

“Perhaps he was tired from looking over his shoulder,” Boyd said.

According to court documents, Powers molested the 12-year-old daughter of a woman he was living with outside La Porte.

 

Powers, who was most recently living near Portage, was last seen in the courtroom for a hearing about a week before the trial but never showed up to face the jury.

Weather Center

High School Scoreboard

Sports Scores

Facebook