Brazil-On Sunday around 7:11p.m. Clay County Sheriffs Dispatch received a call, in reference to a suspicious person around North Murphy Road near County Road 1200 North in Van Buren Township.

Upon the arrival of Clay County Sheriff’s Deputies it was discovered that a pickup truck had been stolen from the area.

While Clay County Sheriff’s Deputies were investigating, Clay County Sheriffs Dispatch received a second call of a suspicious person involving a stuck vehicle in Perth, Indiana (Dick Johnson Township). Upon the arrival to the call in Perth, Deputies observed that the vehicle that was stuck matched the description of the stolen vehicle from a previous call being investigated.

Deputies verified that the vehicle was in fact the stolen vehicle and contacted a man near the truck. When deputies attempted to take him into custody, the male later identified as Billy J. Phillips, 51 from Brazil,  resisted arrest. Clay County Sheriff’s Deputies were able to take Phillips into custody and transported him to the Clay County Justice Center. He is preliminarily charged with:

• Level 6 Felony Battery Against a Public Safety Officer,
• Level 6 Motor Vehicle Theft; and A Misdemeanor Resisting Law Enforcement.