FRANKFORT, IN — Clinton County Sheriff Richard Kelly has resigned as part of a plea agreement filed Thursday involving 2022 felony charges.
During a final pretrial hearing Thursday morning, Kelly pleaded guilty to felony level charges of conflict of interest and official misconduct, with one count of official misconduct dismissed, according to court documents.
Felony conflict-of-interest and official misconduct charges filed in 2022 were triggered by a 2021 State Board of Accounts audit that found that between Jan. 1, 2019, and Sept. 30, 2021, 85 checks were improperly issued from the jail’s commissary fund to Kelly and his wife’s company, totaling $190,916.61. In that same time frame, the SBOA found checks were also improperly issued to Ashley Kelly, totaling $32,967.92.
Ashley Kelly also accepted a plea agreement in her case Thursday. As of Thursday afternoon, those documents were not immediately available in court records.
As part of the plea agreement, Richard Kelly faces 2.5 years of incarceration, but the deal recommends that be suspended, and a year on probation. The agreement acknowledges the judge can decide whether to accept the agreed-upon conditions.
Kelly will be supervised by the Boone County Probation Department, according to court documents.
In accepting the plea agreement, Kelly waived his right to appeal his sentencing, but he may petition for alternative misdemeanor sentencing.
Clinton County commissioners said in a news release Thursday afternoon that the county’s Republican Party has begun notifying eligible precinct committeemen of a caucus to select a replacement for Kelly as sheriff.
The caucus, led by county chairman and commissioners President Jordan Brewer, must be held within 30 days of the vacancy, the release said. Until a new sheriff is selected, Chief Deputy Shawn Mayfield will serve as acting sheriff.
Brewer said in the release that today brings accountability while also marking the beginning of an important rebuilding process “not only within the sheriff’s department, but within our community.”
“This is an emotional day for me personally, having been involved in this process for nearly six years,” Brewer said in the release. “Throughout that time, there were accusations that this was politically motivated or some kind of witch hunt. Those accusations were directed not only at me, but at other commissioners, council members, and even our families. We’ve endured a great deal, always believing that the truth would eventually come to light.”
Commissioner Bert Weaver said in the release that the situation was unfortunate.
“Public officials are held to a high standard because of the responsibility and trust placed in them, and in this case, that trust was broken over and over again,” Weaver said in the release. “While this has been difficult for everyone involved, we are hopeful this brings some closure and allows the county to begin moving forward.”
On May 1, Kelly was also most recently charged in Hamilton County of unlawfully carrying a handgun in light of current felony charges.
On April 9, Kelly was working an off-duty armed security assignment in the area of 1721 W. 116th St. in Carmel, when a Clinton County deputy said he received a call from Kelly, according to the probable cause affidavit. The deputy was working at the jail at the time of the call, and he told Indiana State Police investigators that Kelly instructed him to leave the jail and drive to his location in Carmel to relieve Kelly from the security assignment.
Court records do not explain why Kelly was in Carmel “on security assignment” or other details about the assignment or the request.
The deputy, described in the court document as a “special deputy” who works in the jail, said that when he arrived in Carmel, Kelly looked “visibly distressed,” the affidavit said. Kelly then directed the deputy to a desk drawer and told him there was something inside that “needed to be taken care of.”
In the drawer, the deputy said he found a holstered handgun, according to court documents, identified as a SIG Sauer P365 9mm pistol. The deputy said he confirmed with Kelly that the gun was a personal weapon and not department-issued.
After the deputy secured the gun in his vehicle, which was loaded with nine rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber, he later contacted ISP to relinquish the firearm out of “circumstantial concerns,” the affidavit said.
While facing felony charges, Kelly is not permitted to carry a handgun, the court documents said.
Richard Kelly is scheduled for an initial hearing before a Hamilton County judge on June 2, according to court records.
Ashley Kelly, meanwhile, was effectively fired recently when the commissioners passed a nepotism policy for county employees. She, too, was in court Thursday and pleaded guilty to one of the four felony charges against her, for conflict of interest.
Both Kellys had faced trial in the 2022 case starting Monday, May 11. Richard and Ashley Kelly were also defeated Tuesday in their races for Republication nominations for commissioner and sheriff, respectively.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Clinton County Sheriff Richard Kelly resigns after guilty plea
Reporting by Jillian Ellison, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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