Man sentenced for attack on woman during 'rolling' domestic dispute
MUNCIE, Ind. — A southern Indiana man has been sentenced to a year in jail for attacking a woman during a "rolling" domestic dispute that ended in Delaware County.
Robert Andrew Demeter, 53, — of New Albany in Floyd County — had pleaded guilty to domestic battery resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 5 felony carrying up to six years in prison.
Delaware Circuit Court 3 Judge Linda Ralu Wolf on Thursday imposed the one-year sentence, and gave Demeter credit for 269 days already spent in the Delaware County jail.
Under the terms of a plea agreement, a count of possession of meth pending against Demeter — also listed in court documents at a northern Michigan address — was dismissed.
Demeter was arrested on Feb. 9 after leading police on a chase from Chesterfield to Yorktown.
Yorktown police said a Chesterfield officer began trying to pull Demeter's vehicle over in that eastern Madison County town. The resulting chase ended about seven miles to the northeast, in the 9300 block of West Smith Street.
A female passenger in his vehicle said Demeter had repeatedly struck her in the head "with a red wooden handle." She was taken to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital for treatment.
Demeter faces a count of resisting law enforcement pending in Floyd County since 2019. He is also accused of probation violations in that county stemming from a 2017 conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon.
His criminal record also includes convictions for dealing in meth, domestic battery and possession of precursors, according to court records and a state Department of Correction website.
STAY INFORMED AND SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM: Subscribe today using the link at the top of this page.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Man arrested after police chase sentenced for domestic battery
