Jacob Rice
The second sentencing hearing for a Columbus man wounded during an exchange of gunfire with police won’t result in any more prison time.
However, more hearings for Jacob Rice from courts in two neighboring counties are pending.
Rice, 40, was first accused of exchanging fire with Columbus Police Sgt. Lukas Nibarger on June 27, 2021 outside a home on Grove Parkway.
While the officer was not injured, Rice – who committed several thefts prior to his confrontation with Nibarger – was hospitalized with a leg wound. Late last year, a jury found Rice guilty of four felony charges. In February, Bartholomew Circuit Judge Kelly Benjamin ordered that Rice serve 36 years in prison
But it was a separate case that brought Rice back into Benjamin’s courtroom Thursday to be sentenced again.
On March 19, 2021, a Columbus Police detective was tipped off that Rice was in a local motel room with an extensive amount of cash and drugs, according to a probable cause affidavit.
While Rice had left the motel before officers arrived, his vehicle was stopped by law enforcement near 11th and Washington streets for a license plate violation, the affidavit states. According to police reports, his vehicle tested positive for methamphetamine and Rice had a large amount of cash.
Back in his motel room, investigators found approximately 44 grams of fentanyl, as well as a quarter gram of methamphetamine. The narcotics, which were mixed in with several plastic baggies, were hidden within the sheets of the bed, the affidavit states.
Although Rice entered a guilty plea to dealing in a narcotic drug as a Level 2 felony on Sept. 25, a plea bargain stipulated that any additional prison time be served concurrently (as the same time) with the first sentence. On Thursday, Benjamin handed down an additional 28-years to Rice, but agreed to make her new sentence concurrent.
As it stands now, the earliest Rice might be released from prison is 2047 at the age of 64, Benjamin said.
While on the stand in his own defense, Rice said he began using methamphetamine and cocaine when he was in his late teens, and sold narcotics mainly to support his own addiction. The judge quoted a mental health analysis that states Rice suffers from drug-induced schizophrenia, the judge said.
But the judge said she found far more aggravating factors in Rice’s case than mitigating factors. For example, the defendant has had 47 separate contacts with law enforcement officers and 28 criminal charges filed against him, Benjamin said.
After pointing out that Rice’s criminal history contains acts of violence, Benjamin says she found some of his earlier crimes as “serious and horrific.”
Now that the Bartholomew County cases are concluded, prosecutors in both Brownstown and Vernon will proceed with their own cases against Rice
In Jackson County, Rice is facing charges of dealing in more than 10 grams of methamphetamine as a Level 2 felony, as well as dealing in a narcotic drug, also a Level 2 felony. Investigators allege he committed those felonies on Feb. 15, 2021.
In Jennings County, Rice is charged with possession of methamphetamine as a Level 6 felony, possession of a narcotic drug as a Level 6 felony and possession of marijuana as a Class B misdemeanor. Those offenses allegedly occurred on March 26, 2021.
If found guilty on all charges in both counties, Jackson Circuit Judge Richard Poynter and Jennings Circuit Judge Jonathan Webster could add up to 65½ additional years in prison, as well as fines of up to $41,000.
