INDIANAPOLIS — A Center Township deputy constable faces a felony charge for unlawfully carrying a handgun and other crimes stemming from his arrest this week during a traffic stop.
Marion County prosecutors on Friday charged Craig Regans, 50, with unlawful carrying of a handgun with a prior domestic battery conviction and other crimes stemming from an Oct. 4 traffic stop on the northwest side, records show.
Center Township Constable Denise Paul Hatch said she placed Regans on administrative leave until the case against him is resolved.
"I am going to withhold judgment until he is prosecuted," Hatch said Friday during a phone interview. "Everyone has a right to a hearing and to presumed innocence. This is still America. You are presumed innocent until you are found guilty."
Hatch said she was aware of Regans' prior domestic battery charge when she hired him.
"I did speak to his wife, his ex-wife, and she said she agrees that his record should be expunged and that he's no threat to her or anybody else," Hatch said.
While the job gives him limited police powers, Hatch said she hired Regans with the understanding that he would not carry a firearm.
"We did have an agreement. I said do not carry a weapon, especially when you're in uniform," Hatch said.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Regans was not wearing a seat belt, driving with expired plates and looking at his cell phone while driving a Ford pickup truck in the 4000 block of North High School Road at about 1 p.m. Wednesday.
The officer stopped the pickup and Regans identified himself as a deputy constable, the affidavit said.
The officer found a .40-caliber handgun loaded with eight rounds in a tool box on the floor of the front passenger seat and a holster in the back compartment, the affidavit said. Several tools in the tool box and a hat found underneath were marked with Regans' name or initials, the affidavit said.
According to the affidavit, Regans has a prior felony conviction for domestic battery stemming from an arrest in 2013. In December, the affidavit said a judge denied Regans' attempt to get the conviction expunged.
Prosecutors on Friday charged him with unlawful carrying of a handgun; misdemeanor possession of a firearm by a domestic batterer; and traffic tickets for not wearing a seatbelt and driving with expired plates.
The gun charge is a level 5 felony and carries a sentence of one to six years in prison if convicted.
Regans appeared in Marion County Superior Court Friday for an initial hearing. Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Marchal set bond at $7,500, records show.
Regans remained held in the Adult Detention Center on Friday morning, records show. His next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 26.
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Contact WRTV reporter Vic Ryckaert at victor.ryckaert@wrtv.com or on Twitter: @vicryc.
