Woman arrested during bench trial

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - A Griffith woman was arrested Friday afternoon after allegedly attempting to prevent witnesses from arriving at an armed robbery trial.

According to court documents, 23-year-old Sharnetta Marie Barnes allegedly called two witnesses scheduled to appear Thursday in a bench trial on the night before their appearances.

Police said Barnes identified herself as "Tammy" from the Tippecanoe County Prosecutor's office and said the trial had been continued and the witnesses did not have to appear.

According to police, Barnes used a card she got on the internet that made her calls appear to originate from the prosecutor's office on the witnesses' cell phones. Police said the use of that card actually helped contribute to her being caught.

The witnesses, Kyle Bostic and Cortney Robinson, checked with the prosecutor's office Thursday morning to see if they were supposed to be in court.

Police later contacted Barnes about the phone calls. Police said she initially denied the allegations, but Friday morning admitted she had made the calls, after spending the past couple of months making notes of witnesses involved in the case and their phone numbers.

According to court documents, Barnes is the girlfriend of 28-year-old Edward Mercer. Mercer is on trial for armed robbery in the Tippecanoe County Superior Court 2. That trial was being heard by Judge Thomas Busch this week.

Mercer's charges stemmed from a July 2009 incident in which he and two others were negotiating the price of a set of tires and rims from a pair of men in Indianapolis they connected with on Craigslist. During the negotiations, several gunshots were fired.

According to prosecutor Pat Harrington, Barnes was sitting in the Superior 2 courtroom Friday, when she was asked to step outside. She was subsequently arrested and transported to the Tippecanoe County jail.

Barnes was arrested for attempted obstruction of justice, a class D felony. She also faces two misdemeanor charges of impersonation of a public servant.