HENRY COUNTY, Ind. — A man and a woman face 18 charges after police said they worked together to kidnap a 19-year-old and attempt to murder him.
According to court documents, at the request of the New Castle Fire Department, the New Castle Police Department was called to the area of South 25 and Indiana Ave around 9 p.m. on December 1, on the report of a battered man.
Upon arrival, they found a 19-year-old male bleeding from his head and face.
Court docs indicate the victim told NCPD officers he had been robbed at gunpoint. He said the suspects also held him in a garage at an unknown location, battered him and forced him to get in the trunk of a car.
The 19-year-old told police the suspects asked for money, phones and login information for his DoorDash account and his girlfriend’s CashApp account.
The victim said that once inside the vehicle’s trunk, he found a way to open it and escape to a safe location.
Officers then began an investigation. The next day, after obtaining a search warrant, they found a stolen vehicle abandoned on a side street — unrelated to the incident. It was reported stolen on November 30 from Anderson.
Police received information from the victim on the suspects’ descriptions. Later, court documents said they received an anonymous tip on Dec. 5 claiming two suspects involved in the incident were named “Brooke Marie” and “Ronnie Fields”.
NCPD officers confirmed these suspects to be 34-year-old Brooke Marie Pegan and 34-year-old Robert Ronald Fields of New Castle. Their home was also discovered to be a mere three blocks away from where the stolen vehicle was abandoned.
While police were attempting to coordinate a recovery for this vehicle, they said they were approached by Pegan and Fields, who claimed they had purchased the vehicle and did not know it was reported stolen.
Per court documents, Pegan and Fields underwent an interview with NCPD on December 12. There, Pegan told officers she had arranged to meet up with a man – later identified as the victim – who offered to “loan” her $500 in exchange for sex.
Pegan admitted she got into a car with the man and went to one of her friends’ garages on Indiana Avenue. However, she did not state what happened in the garage with the man and claimed she was not involved with the victim.
NCPD said she also was concerned for her safety and “ramble[d] about how [the man] had a gun and that he threatened her and her kids”. Court docs added that her interview was difficult to follow and often contradictory.
That same day, NCPD interviewed Fields. Initially, he denied knowing the vehicle was stolen but later admitted that he was aware and planned to sell the parts for cash.
According to court documents, Fields and Pegan were arrested following their interviews and transported to the Henry County Jail without incident.
Now, Fields and Pegan both face the following charges:
- Conspiracy to commit murder (Level 2 Felony)
- Robbery resulting in serious bodily injury (Level 2 Felony)
- Kidnapping (Level 2 Felony)
- Criminal confinement (Level 2 Felony)
- Aggravated battery (Level 3 Felony)
- Unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon (Level 4 Felony) (two counts)
- Theft (Level 5 Felony) (three counts)
- Intimidation (Level 5 Felony)
- Auto theft (Level 6 Felony)
- Pointing a firearm (Level 6 Felony)
- Forgery (Level 6 Felony)
- Theft (Level 6 Felony) (two counts)
- Theft (Class A Misdemeanor)
Initial hearings in the two suspects’ cases have yet to be scheduled, online court records show.
