BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY — Former Bartholomew County Prosecutor William “Bill” Nash was sentenced to one year probation Thursday after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges following an incident where he told a neighbor “I can kill you.”
Nash will serve one year of probation after a plea agreement was accepted Thursday.
As part of the plea agreement, Nash pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors. Nash originally faced two felony charges and seven misdemeanors.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Nash made a threat toward his neighbor on Mother's Day 2022 after an argument over his neighbor's dogs.
At one point, Nash yelled at his neighbor "I can kill you! I will kill you and Indiana State Law says I can kill you!", the affidavit alleges.
Indiana State Police began investigating Nash after his neighbor made a complaint to Columbus police.
The neighbor told an ISP detective he was mowing his lawn when Nash angrily approached him and shouted, "You have dangerous dogs, this is the last time. You yell about a BB gun being dangerous, your dogs are dangerous!", according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, Nash's neighbor told police he had fired a BB gun toward their house before.
After that exchange, the neighbor told Nash to get off his property, at which point Nash turned away and said, "Damn dogs better be on a leash. Those are dangerous dogs and he better get a lawyer."
The neighbor told the detective he then continued mowing until he noticed an animal collar with a phone number written on it. He later called the number and realized it was Nash's.
The neighbor told the detective that shortly after that he walked up to Nash to ask why the collar was on his property. Nash responded "I don't know, throw it over here" to which the neighbor asked if they could discuss it like adults.
The neighbor said Nash replied, "You think a BB gun is dangerous! Your dogs are dangerous! A BB gun is not going to kill you! You have kids playing with the dogs! You think a BB gun can kill you! I can kill you! l will kill you and Indiana State Law says l can kill you!" according to the affidavit.
The neighbor said Nash continued by saying "Throw it and go, the last time I checked l am still the chief law enforcement officer until December 31 so go ahead and call the cops! Good luck with that! Throw me my thing," according to the affidavit.
Part of the exchange was captured on camera, according to the affidavit.
Nash was elected Bartholomew County Prosecutor in 2002. Lindsey Holden-Kay became prosecutor in 2022.
