Columbus teens are accused of ambush at abandoned barn

Three Columbus teens are under arrest, accused of luring a victim to a barn and beating the young man earlier this month.

According to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, the incident happened early in the morning on June 3rd. Deputies were called to Columbus Regional Hospital at about 2:50 a.m. that morning about a victim of a violent crime being treated at the hospital. The 19-year-old said that a female acquaintance offered to give him a ride to pick up food. But instead took the man to an abandoned barn in the eastern part of the county.

That’s where masked men pulled him from the vehicle into the barn. The victim was then beaten and possibly cut with a knife. After the attack, they left the victim in the barn, where he was eventually able to walk to a nearby neighborhood for help.

Deputies say the side of the victim’s face was covered in dried blood and he had several injuries including cuts to his right face and cheek, cuts and scrapes to his neck and face and a swollen and bleeding lip.

On Saturday, deputies arrested 18-year-lds Charles Breedlove, Emily Franklin and Ashton Fields, all of Columbus. They are facing felony charges including kidnapping, robbery, criminal confinement and aggravated battery.

The incident is still under investigation and if you have any information, you are urged to call Detective Kevin Abner at 812-565-5930.