On Tuesday, January 16, the Meade County Courthouse parking lot could have been confused for a Vlasik commercial set if you did not know what was going on. There was a person in a pickle suit, inflatable pickles "fighting" each other in the wind from the poles they hung from on the back of a truck and signs with pickles displayed on them supporting the Sheriff's Office, Jail and other Meade County departments caught up in the drama that has unfolded since a Lanesville "YouTube" couple came to the courthouse last October and were arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
So, you may be asking, "What's the "dill" with all the pickles?" Well, during the arrest of Chris Reiter and Tiffany Napier, the aforementioned Lanesville couple, Napier told the arresting officer not to touch him or he was going to be in a real pickle. After interviewing several people from the crowd that gathered outside the courthouse, some driving from as far away as Carrol and Owen Counties, it became apparent that a lot of people are tired of "dilling" with this couple and the way they have negatively treated and portrayed law enforcement and government officials to make money from YouTube ads for their inflammatory video content across a whole litany of southern Indiana and Kentucky counties.
The court hearing was delayed long past the scheduled 2 p.m. start time. After the Judge arrived from Hardin County, Reiter and Napier's lawyer, Thomas Clay, attempted to call from his Louisville office. The Judge stated that it was unacceptable as the paperwork specifically stated that the couple was to appear in the Meade County courtroom at 2 p.m. As a result, the hearing was delayed until the lawyer and defendants could drive from Louisville.
Before the hearing began, Clay and Commonwealth Attorney Rick Hardin met in a private conference room, on the Judge's request, to see if an agreement could be made to settle the case. Upon exiting the conference, Hardin advised that the two sides could talk for five hours and never be able to come to an agreement as Hardin saw no justification to reduce the charges. He advised that the case moves to a jury or bench trial to be settled.
The Judge stated the month of May would be the best time to start the trial, in order to give both sides time for the discovery process. With Meade County only having one courtroom, it was ultimately decided to move the jury trial to Hardin County after the Judge, prosecutor, defense and court clerk struggled to find dates that would allow for two days that work for all parties without the courtroom already being in use. Prosecutor Rick Hardin also pointed out that he didn't know if they would be able to get a jury in Meade County after the coverage of the case that the local paper had printed, referencing the slanted articles that had been written which painted the Sheriff's Office as an embarrassment to the county and the defendants as victims, not the law violators they were alleged to be. The Judge stated that she didn't think that would be a problem, though.
At the end of the hearing, Reiter and Napier were met by Meade County Sheriff's Bailiff who served Reiter with papers on three new charges. The Sherrif's Office did not make the charges but is the agency mandated by the state to serve court summonses. The couple was already facing disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges. The new criminal complaints charge Reiter with harassment, harassing communications and disseminating personally identifying information.
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