Riley
A Bartholomew County man is facing up to 15 years in prison after admitting in court that he struck his neighbor in the head with a croquet mallet.
Robert L. Riley, 42, of 11321 W. Baker Hollow Road, Columbus, has accepted a plea agreement in Bartholomew Superior Court 1. He pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a seriously violent felon as a Level 4 felony, and battery causing serious injury as a Level 5 felony. In exchange, misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia were dropped.
Judge James Worton has scheduled sentencing for 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 27.
On Oct. 16, 2022, Riley’s neighbor, William Barger, was inside his house with Misty Smith when they heard Riley outside, according to a probable cause affidavit. Smith said both she and Barger were aware that Riley had been acting strangely, the affidavit said.
Smith said that when she saw Barger walking in front of his house to find Riley, he suddenly turned and ran away after Riley approached him while holding the mallet, the court document stated. The defendant caught up with Barger near a detached garage and struck him in the head with the wooden mallet, investigators stated.
Barger, who said he lost consciousness for a short time, told deputies that when he came around, he saw Riley standing over him as if he was going to hit him again. But when a witness screamed, Riley fled Barger’s property and returned to his own residence.
When deputies Matthew Bush and Teancum Clark of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Dept. arrived, Barger warned them that Riley might have a firearm while sitting in a chair on his porch. When the deputies approached Riley’s residence, they ordered him to get off the porch and walk to them, the affidavit said. Riley complied and was taken into custody without incident, the deputies stated.
During questioning, Riley said he was breaking up concrete near the property line when Barger came at him with a broom, according to the affidavit. The court document also states the defendant claimed he struck William in the head with his fist, not a croquet mallet.
Deputies found a box of croquet mallets near the front door of Riley’s home, with one mallet found discovered a distance from the others, the police report states.
Barger told deputies the attack was the result of Riley’s inaccurate assumptions that Barger was hiding Riley’s ex-girlfriend, that Barger was have intimate relations with Riley’s ex-girlfriend, and had stolen the defendant’s dog, the affidavit states.
After Riley admitted he had both marijuana and Suboxone, the brand name for a drug used to treat opioid use disorder, authorities had probable cause to search his home.
A New England Firearms 12 gauge shotgun was found between two mattresses, while a white powder believed to be a narcotic drug was found wrapped in aluminum foil, the police report states. Deputies also found a leafy substance believed to be marijuana, as well as a glass smoking device, the affidavit says.
Riley was judged a serious violent felon after being convicted in 2007 for stalking a 74-year-old man from a local Walmart store to the victim’s home, assaulting the man and attempting to take a newly-purchased television.
Authorities also suspected that Riley stole prescription medication that same year from at least seven area residences, according to investigators. He also pleaded guilty in 2011 to theft after a burglary charge was dropped by the state.
