Pike County – Early Tuesday morning, October 16th, at approximately 12:33, Trooper John Davis was patrolling S.R. 61 approximately two-miles south of Petersburg when he observed a black 2005 Nissan traveling northbound at a high rate of speed.  Trooper Davis clocked the vehicle by radar at 100 mph in a 55 mph zone.  Trooper Davis immediately activated his emergency lights and siren, but the vehicle continued northbound at a high rate of speed.  As Trooper Davis approached Petersburg he observed the Nissan had stopped briefly in the middle of S.R. 61 at Illinois Street.  The vehicle then turned left onto Illinois Street and then north on 6th Street before the driver jumped out and fled on foot.  Petersburg Police arrived and took custody of a passenger in the Nissan, who was later identified as Lukas J. Atkins, 33, of Petersburg.  Trooper Davis chased the driver for a couple of blocks before taking him into custody near 5th Street and McCoy.  The driver was identified as Jonathan Gerber-Bateman, 20, of West Baden Springs.  During the investigation, Atkins gave false information to officers.  He was arrested for false informing and taken to the Pike County Jail where he is currently being held on bond.  Gerber-Bateman was arrested for resisting law enforcement and is currently being held without bond.  Further investigation revealed Gerber-Bateman’s vehicle stalled because it was out of gas.

ARRESTED AND CHARGES:
• Jonathan Gerber-Bateman, 20, West Baden Springs, IN
1. Resisting Law Enforcement with a Vehicle, Class D Felony
2. Resisting Law Enforcement, Class A Misdemeanor
3. Reckless Driving, Class B Misdemeanor

• Lukas J. Atkins, 33, Petersburg, IN
1.  False Informing, Class B Misdemeanor

Arresting Officer: Trooper John Davis
Assisting Agencies: Petersburg Police and Pike County Sheriff’s Department

All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.