Muncie woman pleads guilty to confinement, battery; rape charge to be dismissed
MUNCIE, Ind. — A Muncie woman who had been accused of holding a newlywed couple against their will and threatening them has entered guilty pleas after negotiating a plea agreement.
Brandy D. Shanks, 25, on Wednesday pleaded guilty to criminal confinement and two counts of battery with a deadly weapon.
Delaware Circuit Court 4 Judge John Feick took a plea bargain in the case — which would place a five-year cap on the Muncie woman's sentence — under advisement and tentatively set sentencing for Dec. 1.
Other related counts against Shanks — including rape, a Level 3 felony carrying up to 16 years in prison — would be dismissed. The rape charge was based on an allegation Shanks "strip searched" the female victim, in the process touching her genitals.
The victims told city police Shanks and a co-defendant 39-year-old Jessy William Mann, terrorized them, threatening them with guns and knives, on Sept. 10, 2018.
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The newlyweds were visiting Mann's southside home, police investigator Jami Brown wrote in an affidavit, when "he became irate and accused (them) of stealing his pain medication."
Mann — who told investigators he had gone into "a blind rage" — last year pleaded guilty to criminal confinement and two counts of intimidation and was sentenced to six years in prison.
Shanks was accused of forcing the bride and another female visitor to the home to walk into a bathroom "“with their hands on their head" and conducted the body searches while wearing "purple gloves."
Shanks also held a knife to one woman's throat and threatened to kill her, the affidavit said.
The groom told police Mann forced him to disrobe, held a handgun to his head and punched him in the chest and face.
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Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Woman pleads guilty in Muncie confinement, battery case
