Noble County police were trying to serve Thomas Hovis Jr. with an arrest warrant on drug charges. As they arrived at the house he was staying at, Hovis ran to a nearby outbuilding. They surrounded the building, ordered him out and then fired tear gas, which apparently did not persuade him to leave. And then:
When officers entered the building, they found Hovis standing up to his neck in a manure pit under the floor. After officers removed Hovis from the pit, he reportedly began fighting with officers, and was Tased, police said.
Hovis was treated at the scene for hypothermia, and taken to Parkview Noble Hospital for a checkup before being taken to the Steuben County Jail on 12 preliminary charges
