ISP serves additional search warrants in ongoing investigation into former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Indiana State Police served multiple search warrants on Wednesday as part of their ongoing investigation into former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel.

Noel was arrested earlier this month on 15 felony charges of theft, fraud, ghost employment and corruption. The charges stem from a nearly yearlong investigation by Noel's successor, Sheriff Scottie Maples, and ISP.

His arrest came nearly three months after ISP served several search warrants at his home on Old Tay Bridge in Jeffersonville in August. The search was part of the state police agency's investigation, requested by Maples, who served as deputy chief under Noel for several years before being elected sheriff in November 2022.

When announcing Noel's arrest, Maples shared a written statement detailing the instances that triggered the investigation. In the statement, Maples said he and his team "discovered many unnerving and possible criminal activities" by Noel.

Maples said he began uncovering the issues shortly after he took office in December 2022 when he discovered a "secret recording device (wiretap)" in the office of the former assistant chief that had been "planted" during Noel's term and "led directly" to Noel's former office. That's when Maples ordered an office-wide review that revealed "more disturbing information," he said.

Shortly after taking office, Maples said an officer "abruptly resigned and requested a retirement benefit." But because the officer did not qualify for the pension, command staff began looking into his request and found "documents that appeared to have been falsified, forged, and destroyed to fraudulently make it appear that this person was owed a pension, in which they were not," Maples said. "That former employee was also a family member of Jamey Noel" according to court documents.

Maples said following the discovery of the wiretap, employees self-reported about being forced to work on Noel's "personal projects" while on-duty. He also said he discovered that Noel allegedly "participated in an attempt to defraud the pension system."

Noel appeared in court the day after his arrest. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and walked out of court after posting a $75,000 bond.

The judge gave Noel three stipulations when setting his bond: He can't leave the state of Indiana, he had to surrender his passport, and surrender all firearms to Indiana State Police except for one shotgun of his choice "for personal protection."

Wednesday, investigators served multiple search warrants in connection with the ongoing investigation into Noel. Noel's home was part of those searches, but it's unclear what police were looking for.

Court documents unsealed earlier this month detail what state investigators found during their previous searches and what they learned through the course of their initial investigation. The documents show interviews with employees who described doing maintenance work at Noel's various properties, including his home, and his father-in-law's home, while on the clock at the Clark County Sheriff's Office and being paid for the work with checks from the Utica Fire Department, where Noel is the chief of the Utica Volunteer Firefighters Association.

While serving search warrants at Noel's home, properties he owned and businesses he ran, investigators found and seized thousands of dollars in cash Noel had — $6,000 inside a vehicle and more than $50,000 in a dresser drawer.

Investigators also found 133 vehicles, seizing dozens of them, that were registered through the Utica Fire Department and New Chapel EMS, including a Charger Hellcat, Escalades and a Corvette Stingray.

Four employees told investigators they built a large garage for the vehicles, bought the cars at auction and transported them. One worker shared nearly 6,000 photos, hundreds of videos and years of text messages between himself and Noel about buying and selling cars. He also had photos of a Clark County Sheriff's Office credit card he said Noel gave him to buy parts for the cars.

Noel is due back in court in January.

This story may be updated.

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