Henry County Deputy not facing criminal charges after police chase

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MUNCIE, Ind. (WISH) — A Henry County deputy, who has not been publicly identified, will not be criminally charged in Delaware County in connection to a police chase that led to a fatal 3-vehicle crash in Muncie.

Before dawn April 18, the deputy tried to pull over Zacrey K. Antrim on State Road 3 near Henry County Road 650 North. That’s about a 1.5 miles north of the town of Mount Summit.

Antrim fled north from the deputy, and ended up running a red light at Tillotson Avenue and McGalliard Road, leading to a crash involving three vehicles, investigators say. The Muncie intersection is about a half-mile west of Ball State University, and about 15 miles from where the deputy tried to pull over Antrim.

The Muncie man was 28 at the time of the crash.

A passenger in the Dodge Dart car that Antrim was driving, Nicholas Wollum, 25, died in the crash.

Antrim and a person in another vehicle in the crash received critical injuries.

In Delaware Circuit Court 1, Antrim faces two misdemeanor charges and seven felony charges. He was formally charged a few days after the crash. A jury trial has been set for March 11, although Indiana court cases often see delays.

In a news release issued Wednesday, the Delaware County prosecutor announced no additional charges will be filed in Muncie as a result of the police chase and the resulting crash. Prosecutor Eric H. Hoffman had been asked to consider whether the police officer who initiated the chase, who he referred to as “Deputy 1,” and his superiors should be criminally charged.

Hoffman wrote, “The decision to file criminal charges against a police officer for continuing a police pursuit under these facts is a very close call. Given the totality of the circumstances, assuming there is probable cause to believe that Deputy 1 committed criminal recklessness on April 18, 2024, I do not believe that such a charge would be able to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. Stated another way, I do not believe it can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Deputy 1’s decision to continue the pursuit amounts to a plain, conscious, and unjustifiable disregard of harm that might result and the disregard involves a substantial deviation from acceptable standards of conduct as required by Indiana law. Consequently, Deputy 1 will not face criminal charges.

“With regard to Deputy 1’s superior officers, the evidence indicates that at all relevant times, they were physically located in Henry County. Generally speaking, the Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney does not have the authority to consider criminal charges for acts that take place or fail to take place in another county. Therefore, the Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney will not make any conclusions whatsoever regarding any potential criminal liability of Deputy 1’s superior officers. That decision would rest solely with the Henry County Prosecuting Attorney.”