Thomas According to one Carroll County Sheriff’s Department police officer, information from several sources, including the local newspaper, can lead to the apprehension of a crime suspect. Maj. Tobe Leazenby said that is what happened in a recent case of alleged bigamy.

Leazenby reported that the department received a call in mid-January which alleged that 33-year-old local resident, Robert L. J. Thomas, had unauthorized use of a vehicle.

In the meantime, a current Carroll County Superior Court warrant for maintaining a common nuisance, possession of marijuana, and possession of paraphernalia, with a writ of attachment for failure to pay child support in Franklin County, was served on Thomas by the Indiana State Police. Thomas was jailed in the Carroll County Jail and later transported to Franklin County.

In the course of the local investig ation, Leazenby said he read about a marriage license issued to the accused in the Comet. Further searching revealed that, although a divorce was pending in Shelby County, Thomas was still married to a woman who is an inmate at the Rockville Correctional Facility.

Thomas was formally charged with bigamy, a Class D felony, in Carroll Superior Court on Jan. 26 by the Carroll County Prosecutor.

No initial hearing has been held due to Thomas’ current incarceration in Franklin County. Leazenby said Thomas will be transported back to Carroll County sometime this week.

According to court records, Thomas was previously convicted of bigamy in Decatur County Jan. 14, 2000.