Man accused of assaulting officers in Miami County pleads insanity

Credit: Courtesy: Miami County Jail

Credit: Courtesy: Miami County Jail

An Indiana man accused of assaulting a state trooper and a jail correction officer following a December traffic incident on Interstate 75 near Piqua entered a written plea of not guilty by reason of insanity Tuesday to assault of a peace officer and assault of a correction officer.

>>Man assaults officers, sings church hymns on my way to jail
Eli Swartzentruber, 33, of Worthington, Ind., pleaded to indictments issued by a Miami County grand jury in January in county Common Pleas Court.
Judge Jeannine Pratt last week set bail at $10,000.
Swartzentruber was arrested Dec. 13 after troopers said he allegedly blocked traffic and slapped a responding trooper in the face. He later was accused of assaulting correction officers at the county jail, kicking one of them in the face.
Troopers said in their report Swartzentruber "began to sing church hymns and began kicking the inside of the patrol car " following his arrest.
The county public defender's office filed the written plea and a request for an evaluation to determine Swartzentruber's competency to stand trial.