SHELBY COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Linton-Stockton boys basketball coach Joey Hart has been suspended indefinitely following an arrest in Shelby County for DUI.
According to court documents, on March 13th at approximately 8:35 p.m., police were called to the area of West State Road 44 near Marietta Road in Shelby County for reports of an impaired driver.
Police said once they caught up to the vehicle they saw the driver roll through a stop sign, once pulled over the officer noted “an overwhelming odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from inside the vehicle.”
The officer said Hart told him he was traveling from Indianapolis to Clay City but was confused as to where he was at the time.
I asked where he was coming from, and he said Indianapolis.
Police Narrative from Probable Cause Affidavit
He then asked me, “where am I?”
I asked Joe if he knew what city he was in, and he said he thought he was in Clay City.
I advised him that was incorrect, and told him he was in Shelbyville.
Police noted that Hart staggered from the vehicle wearing coaching attire with “Linton Miners” written on it. The officer said Hart refused to comply with a field sobriety test or portable breathalyzer.
“Joe kept telling me he screwed up, and cost his team now from playing in the Semi-State,” the officer said.
According to court documents in a previous case involving Coach Hart and public intoxication out of Clay County, Hart entered a pretrial diversion agreement on February 20, 2023.
In the Shelby County incident, a witness told police that as they were following Hart’s vehicle they saw him cross the center line multiple times and struggled to stay in the right lane, at one point driving down the center of the roadway with several “close calls” where the vehicle almost wrecked into oncoming traffic.
Hart was taken to a hospital for a blood draw for testing before being booked into the Shelby County Jail on a charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Once at the jail Hart reportedly refused another breathalyzer test.
Coach Hart has been placed on indefinite suspension as a result of this arrest. Linton-Stockton Schools Superintendent released the following statement;
Linton-Stockton high School Boys Basketball Coach, Joey Hart, has been suspended indefinitely. Assistant Coach Noah Hawkins will take over the head coaching duties immediately and until further notice. This will be the only statement released by the school corporation or persons within the school and basketball program on this action, as we are bound by policy on discussing Personnel matters.
Dr. Kathy Goad, Linton-Stockton Schools Superintendent
Jail records show that Hart was released from the Shelby County Jail on Tuesday, March 14 at 9:05 a.m.
