Indianapolis police are searching for a man accused of battering a store clerk at a liquor store on the city's near west side, after officers say a single $23 bottle of wine went missing from the shelf. The alleged assault happened at Hometown Wine and Liquors on West 16th Street, and detectives are now asking the public for help tracking the suspect down.
Officers were called to the store on August 14 after a person battered report was filed, according to Fox 59. The report indicates a bottle of wine valued at $23 was stolen from the store, and the investigation centers on an employee of Hometown Wine and Liquors who was allegedly assaulted during the incident. IMPD Southwest District officers have requested the public's assistance in identifying and locating the man wanted in connection with the case.
IMPD Southwest District detectives have asked the public to help identify the person pictured in connection with the case, though the outlet's report does not specify whether the clerk suffered any bodily injury during the alleged assault. That detail matters under Indiana law: battery is defined under Indiana Code § 35-42-2-1 as knowingly or intentionally touching another person in a rude, insolent, or angry manner, a Class B misdemeanor on its own, according to FindLaw. The same statute escalates the charge to a Class A misdemeanor if the contact results in bodily injury, and can climb further to a Level 6 felony carrying up to 2.5 years in prison if the injury is moderate, per Justia Law.
Theft Plus Force Could Mean Felony Robbery
Indiana law also draws a sharp line between simple shoplifting and taking merchandise by force. Retail theft under $750 is normally a Class A misdemeanor, but Indiana Code § 35-42-5-1 elevates the offense to Level 5 felony robbery — punishable by one to six years in prison — if property is taken directly from a person using or threatening force, according to Banks & Brower. Whether prosecutors ultimately pursue misdemeanor battery or felony charges will likely hinge on the extent of any injury to the clerk and how the theft and assault are legally connected once a suspect is identified.
The case falls under the jurisdiction of IMPD's Southwest District, which patrols 80.8 square miles and serves roughly 136,000 residents across Decatur Township and parts of Wayne and Perry townships with about 170 officers, per Indy.gov. The district is headquartered at 551 N. King Ave. under Commander Nikole Pilkington. IMPD Chief Tanya Terry, who became the department's first female chief in early 2024, previously commanded the Southwest District from 2021 to 2024 and hosted public forums earlier this year focused on westside safety concerns, according to Mirror Indy.
Anonymous Tips and Camera Networks Aid the Search
Anyone with information about the suspect can contact investigators directly at [email protected], but residents can also reach out anonymously through Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana, which offers rewards of up to $1,000 for information leading to a felony arrest via 317-262-TIPS, CrimeTips.org, or the P3 Tips app, per Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana. IMPD also relies on its B-Link Indy program, which lets business owners and residents register private security cameras so detectives can quickly pull surveillance footage after a crime, a tool that could prove useful along a busy corridor like West 16th Street.
West 16th Street serves as a heavily traveled commercial artery connecting the Near West Side and Haughville neighborhoods across the White River to downtown Indianapolis, lined with retail shops and neighborhood businesses, as Hoodline has previously reported. The corridor's mix of foot traffic and small storefronts makes tools like B-Link especially relevant when detectives are chasing leads on a suspect caught on camera but not yet named.
The investigation also comes amid a broader staffing strain at IMPD, which has operated with an estimated 200 to 300 fewer sworn officers than authorized strength throughout 2025 and 2026, a gap that has increased the department's reliance on public tips and registered video networks to help solve district-level retail crimes. That dynamic has played out before in Marion County liquor store cases: in March 2025, an Indianapolis man was sentenced in federal court to 13 years in prison for a violent liquor store robbery that injured an employee, underscoring how seriously such cases can be prosecuted once a suspect is caught and charged.
For now, the man accused of battering the Hometown Wine and Liquors clerk remains unidentified, and it is not yet known whether prosecutors will pursue misdemeanor or felony charges once he is located. IMPD Southwest District detectives continue to ask anyone with information to come forward.
