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Charges dismissed in Muncie man's 2018 arrest

The prosecution said it dismissed the case because "it is in the best interest of justice" and cited three reasons for the dismissal.
Credit: WTHR

MUNCIE, Ind. — The state has dismissed charges against a Muncie man involved in a traffic incident with police in 2018.

Court documents show Lorenzo Reyes was pulled over June 5, 2018 shortly before 4 a.m. 

According to Officer Dalton Kurtz's report on the night of the incident, a female passenger tried to get out of the vehicle because Reyes was driving recklessly. Kurtz said the woman was severely injured after exiting the vehicle and was taken to a hospital.

According to Kurtz, Reyes resisted arrest and grabbed the top of the officer's handgun. Kurtz said Reyes continued resisting until he was placed in handcuffs. 

In Kurtz's report, another woman at the scene reportedly told police she had recently dated Reyes for two years, and he punched her that night. 

Reyes was then charged with two felonies and three misdemeanors.

  • Disarming a law enforcement officer - Level 5 felony
  • Battery resulting in moderate bodily injury - Level 6 felony
  • Operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person - Class A misdemeanor
  • Domestic battery - Class A misdemeanor
  • Resisting law enforcement - Class A misdemeanor

RELATED: Muncie officers indicted on excessive force and obstruction charges

Hamilton County-based law firm Massillamany Jeter & Carson, LLP represented Reyes.

According to the defense, no dash cameras or body cameras were turned on until after Reyes was arrested. Prosecuting attorney Eric M. Hoffman said evidence in the case included body camera footage. According to Hoffman, the electronic system maintains an audit trail of who accessed the video and when it was viewed — which showed the defense team never watched the footage. Hoffman, however, did not refute defense attorney Mario Massillamany's claim about when the body camera footage began.

Massillamany said he was able to get a witness to come forward and tell the Delaware County Prosecutor's Office what actually happened that night. However, the prosecution said they were unable to get in contact with the woman who said Reyes hit her that night.

According to the defense, Kurtz pleaded guilty April 8, 2021 to writing false police reports in a separate case on the same day of Reyes' arrest. The Delaware County Prosecutor's Office said it found no evidence that any officers falsified records in the incident with Reyes.

According to court documents, the prosecution dismissed the case because "it is in the best interest of justice" and cited three reasons for the dismissal: 

  1. Unable to locate the woman who alleged Reyes hit her the night of the incident
  2. Insufficient evidence to proceed to a trial
  3. Kurtz's guilty plea of falsifying a report in a separate case

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