Former Southern Indiana sheriff arrested on 15 felony charges

Former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel faces charges of theft, official misconduct, ghost employment and obstruction of justice.

On Wednesday, Noel was placed into handcuffs and ushered into the jail he once ran.

The arrest comes after an Indiana State Police investigation that launched earlier this year into allegations of public corruption. Noel served two terms as Clark County sheriff from 2015 to 2022.

Current Sheriff Scottie Maples — who served as chief deputy under Noel — released a statement Wednesday afternoon outlining Noel’s 15 felony charges including theft, official misconduct, ghost employment and obstruction of justice.

Maples said in the statement that in the months after becoming sheriff in 2022, he “discovered many unnerving and possible criminal activities” by Noel and contacted ISP.

Maples detailed three allegations against Noel. The first involved a secret recording device in the office of a former employee. Maples said Noel also had sheriff’s office employees perform work on his personal property while on duty, and that he attempted to fraudulently arrange for a family member to earn a retirement pension.

“After finding the listening device, having employees self-report that they had been forced to work on former Sheriff Jamey Noel’s personal projects while on duty and discovering that he allegedly participated in an attempt to defraud the pension system that so many of our dedicated employees deserve, I called the Indiana State Police,” Maples wrote. “I was disturbed and very disappointed in Jamey Noel’s conduct and the steps he took to conceal information from his staff and me during his tenure as Sheriff, but I knew something had to be done.

In August, ISP served search warrants at Noel’s Jeffersonville home and three locations of New Chapel EMS, where he is chief and CEO.

During Noel’s tenure as sheriff dozens of women incarcerated at the Clark County Jail said they were assaulted by men who bought a key from a corrections officer.

Noel is the Republican Party chair for Clark County and Indiana’s 9th Congressional District.

Noel’s attorney Larry Wilder did not respond to a request for comment.