Logansport man arrested for intimidation after resisting law enforcement charges

The Logansport Police Department arrested a Logansport resident Tuesday on charges of intimidation and resisting law enforcement, among other charges, according to police reports.

On November 5, Officer Joe Schlosser was dispatched to an apartment on George Street in reference to a battery; It was stated that the suspect was injured in the incident and was difficult to understand. According to the police account, when officers arrived at the scene, they found the apartment door ajar and initially received no response after calling “the police.”

Officers then checked the basement laundry room, where they found 31-year-old Nicodemo Gomez Lopez lying face down on the floor. They observed no obvious injuries and he refused treatment or transportation to a hospital.

A fire department interpreter told officers that Gomez Lopez told him he was shot and dragged from his home by a man named Francisco, whose last name or physical description he could not provide. His story was later changed to say he was not dragged out of the room and a knife was thrust at him, but he later said the knife was never used against him, according to the report.

Officers escorted Gomez Lopez to his room, but while Schlosser was in his vehicle, Gomez Lopez reappeared outside and said Francisco was hiding under the bed. After searching, officers found no one under the bed and instructed the man to return to his room to spend the night.

Gomez Lopez reappeared as Schlosser was leaving the parking lot and stumbled, nearly falling into the retaining wall. Based on training, Schlosser believed the man was under the influence of narcotics and arrested him for public intoxication, police said.

Officer Joshua Bennett directed Gomez Lopez’s transportation while Schlosser finished his shift. According to the police narrative, Gomez Lopez looked at Bennett while in the scanner and anteroom and asked the officer if he knew how to die. He continued to make threatening statements when prison staff informed Bennett that he needed to be medically cleared for refusing a preliminary breath test.

Gomez Lopez continued to make threatening statements to Bennett while he was in the hospital and repeatedly looked at the name tape on Bennett’s uniform after he was medically cleared. Upon arrival at the Cass County Jail, Gomez Lopez passively resisted exiting the patrol vehicle, but eventually complied and abandoned the vehicle.

As he walked toward the scanner and the entry room, he twice tried to step back and force his way away from the officer’s grasp. Since the prison staff in the room did not speak Spanish, Bennett offered to read the questions to Gomez Lopez. Reportedly, the man tried to kick Bennett while he was reading the questions, but missed and hit the paper in his hand.

Gomez Lopez was charged with two counts of Intimidation, one count of Level 6 Felony, one count of Resisting Law Enforcement, one count of Class A Misdemeanor and Public Intoxication, one count of Class B Misdemeanor. Bond was set at $1,000 cash or $5,000 surety.