Wanda English Burnett
Editor

The death of a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputy has hit the Ripley County community hard as news of the former resident being killed was heard.

A one vehicle crash claimed the life of Deputy Roy B. (Bruce) Sutton, Jr., 33, of Hanover Friday, December 11. According to information from Sgt. Noel Houze of the Indiana State Police, Deputy Sutton was responding to a domestic dispute involving weapons on Dugan Hollow Road when the accident occurred.

Sutton was near his destination when he met another vehicle traveling toward him on Dugan Hollow Road, which is described as “very hilly and winding.” The sheriff’s vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway and went down a steep embankment and was airborne with the driver’s side striking a tree. Although the deputy was wearing his seat belt, he suffered fatal head trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene by Alice Jackson, Jefferson County Coroner.

Deputy Sutton was a 1996 graduate of South Ripley High School and was from the New Marion area. He attended the New Marion Baptist Church where he was baptized. He played sports, varsity basketball, baseball and track for South Ripley. He then attended Northern Kentucky University and Ivy Tech State College. He graduated from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield in July of 2009 and had been with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department for the past year.

He married Melissa A. Pyles on January 25, 2003 and has resided in the Hanover community for the past four years. He is described as being a devoted uncle, an avid sports fan following IU Basketball, the Bengals and Cincinnati Reds teams. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and being with his family.

Funeral services will take place Thursday, December 17 at 11 a.m. at the Madison Consolidated High School Gymnasium, 743 Clifty Drive, Madison, with full honors conducted by the Fraternal Order of Police Memorial Team and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department. The service will be officiated by Chaplain J.D. Traylor of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department. Burial will take place in the New Marion Cemetery.

Visitation will be held Wednesday, December 16 from 3-8 p.m. and Thursday, December 17 from 10 a.m. until time of the service at the gymnasium.

Memorial contributions may be made in memory of the officer to the Chelsea Bass Master’s Kids Fishing Tournament or the DARE Program or the Lide White Boys and Girls Club through the Morgan & Nay Funeral Centre.

See full obituary inside today’s paper.

Deputy Roy Bruce Sutton Jr.