JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — Former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel made his first court appearance on Thursday after being arrested by Indiana State Police on 15 felony charges.
Noel is facing one count of corrupt business influence, four counts of theft, one count of obstruction of justice, five counts of ghost unemployment and four counts of official misconduct. He was arrested on Wednesday, Nov. 8.
Noel served as Clark County sheriff between 2015 and 2022.
During Noel's arraignment, Judge Larry Medlock from Washington County set his bond at $75,000, which was more than triple what the prosecution requested.
According to officials, Noel posted bond within an hour after his hearing and has been released from custody.
As part of the bond agreement, Karaffa said Noel will need to surrender his passport and all firearms, except one shotgun for self protection, to ISP. Noel also won't be allowed to leave Indiana.
Noel's next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2024. A jury trial is expected to begin next year on May 6.
'Corrupt business practice'
On Wednesday, current Clark County Sheriff Scottie Maples said he began investigating the former sheriff after discovering a wiretap in the former assistant chief's office "which had been planted during Jamey Noel's term."
Maples added that shortly after taking office, an officer "abruptly resigned and requested a retirement benefit." After an internal investigation, Maples and his command staff found documents that appeared to be falsified, claiming the person deserved a pension when they didn't.
"That former employee was also a family member of Jamey Noel," Maples said.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Noel was also abusing his power and misusing taxpayer's money. Detectives said Noel had ordered four of the jail's maintenance employees to work on his personal properties while on duty and being paid for by Clark County taxpayers.
The employees told investigators they worked on Noel's private residence, rental properties, father-in-law's residence, pole barn and properties owned by two nonprofits, New Chapel EMS and Utica Township Volunteer Fire Fighters Association.
Noel was heavily connected to the Utica Township Volunteer Fire Fighters Association, according to detectives, several business names associated with the nonprofit were registered to Jamey Noel.
The documents allege Noel also had one employee pick up vehicles the former sheriff had purchased out of state.
In August, Indiana State Police helped Maples execute search warrants on four properties connected to Noel, including his private residence.
Police also searched Noel's pole barn and Utica Township Volunteer Fire Fighters Association Stations 1 and 2.
The affidavit said Noel was found at the pole barn, where he turned over his cell phone to police. Detectives said Noel's phone had been factory reset and "the data had been wiped clean."
After searching the barn, police found seven of the nonprofit's vehicles mixed in with dozens of Noel's personal vehicles. More vehicles owned by the nonprofit were located at Noel's family member's homes, police seized a total of 30 vehicles.
Further investigation into Noel's connection to the nonprofit, revealed that the multiple business names may have been an attempt at "layering."
"The goal of layering in a corrupt business practice is to make the process of tracking money or assets through each layer of a business, in this case using assumed business names and separate accounts, more difficult," the affidavit said, adding "there is evidence of complex layering schemes."
Detectives said Noel was also purchasing and selling dozens of vehicles owned by the Utica Township Volunteer Fire Fighters Association for his own personal gain, and in many cases, deposits into his own bank account.
The special prosecutor in this case, Richard Hertel from Ripley County, accuses Noel of racketeering – illegally profiting through the disguise of a legitimate business.
"There have been 13 search warrants to date. There have been 41 subpoenas to everything from bank accounts to a multitude of other things," Hertel told reporters at a news conference hosted by ISP following the arraignment Thursday afternoon.
Community reaction
Clark County resident Lalesia Murrell and others in Jeffersonville are stunned by Noel's arrest, saying public officials like Noel need to be held to a higher standard, but be held accountable like everyone else.
"I feel like he will make him be held accountable for what he's done, you know he wants to get to the bottom of it and see what's going on," Murrell said. "If we do something or something you're coming to get us for our bad, but here [Noel is], doing all kinds of bad [himself]."
Caleb Schultz, another community member, said it's good the incident is being investigated.
"It's good that what he was doing is being looked into and being investigated, but eventually the truth will come out," he said.
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