Brown charged for Drumm’s death

A Portland man has been charged with drunk driving resulting in death.

Michael L. Brown, 27, was arrested and charged Thursday in Jay Superior Court with a Level 3 felony for leaving the scene of an accident, a Level 4 felony for causing a death when operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or more and a Level 5 felony for driving with a suspended license. He’s charged with drunk driving resulting in the death of 18-year-old Devon R. Drumm.

Brown was driving a 2013 Kia Forte around 5:44 p.m. June 4 when he lost control of the vehicle, causing it to go off the north side of county road 700 South, according to a Jay County Sheriff’s Office report. The car rolled, hit a tree on the passenger side and stopped in a ditch.

Brown was ejected from the car and suffered a head wound. Drumm was trapped in the car and later pronounced dead at the scene. He was a member of the Jay County High School Class of 2023 that graduated just hours before his death.

Brown is being held on a $55,000 bond in Jay County Jail.

In Indiana, a Level 3 felony has a sentence between three and 16 years, with an advisory sentence of nine years. A Level 4 felony has a sentence between 12 and two years with an advisory sentence of six years and a Level 5 felony has a sentence between one and six years.