Former Clark Co. Sheriff Jamey Noel remains jailed after latest decision from Indiana appeals court

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected an appeal from former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel's attorneys that claimed the terms of his original $75,000 bond were too excessive.

Noel served as Clark County sheriff from 2015-23 and also led New Chapel Fire/EMS and the Utica Township Volunteer Fire Department.

Special Judge Larry Medlock originally set Noel's bond at $75,000 cash after his Nov. 15 arrest on 15 felony charges. Noel was also ordered not to possess any firearms other than a shotgun for protection.

During a search of Noel's family home, investigators found two handguns he was not permitted to have. Medlock found him in contempt of court and ordered him to serve 60 days in the Scott County Jail.

New charges related to money laundering were filed against Noel in early June, and Medlock increased the bond amount to $1.5 million in a hearing a day later. So Noel was not released from jail at the end of his 60-day sentence.

Medlock ordered the higher bond during a hearing in Jeffersonville a day after the six new charges were levied against Noel. According to court documents, those include one count of money laundering and five additional counts of theft. In total, he now faces 31 charges.

The appeals court ruling issued on June 20 found the conditions of Noel's original bond were "not an abuse of discretion," with the court saying it was "unpersuaded" by the arguments presented by Noel's attorneys.

Medlock has also frozen all of the Noel family's assets.

Now, Noel remains in the Scott County jail on a $1.5 million bond, set by Medlock after the six new charges of theft and money laundering were brought against Noel earlier this month.

"With all these luxuries and money that you've allegedly taken I'm thinking about $1.5 million dollars in bond outta be appropriate, you should be able to post that with no problem, with everything that you have," Medlock said previously in court. "I may be wrong but my responsibility is to the citizens of Clark County and the state of Indiana. And I think it's what must be done in their best interest and restore their faith of the rule of law."

It will be harder for Noel to post bail this time, as someone else will likely have to post it.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita asked a judge to stop Noel and his family from selling assets such as cars, homes, jewelry, and clothing.

Noel now faces 31 felony counts including theft, fraud and tax evasion. An audit revealed that there was multiple business names used for Utica Township Volunteer fire and New Chapel EMS.

That made it harder to track public funds.

"You still seem to think that the Utica Volunteer Fire Department's your personal piggy bank," Medlock said. "All the while, every day, individuals are trying to survive working paycheck to paycheck with their own money — that they've worked hard for — while you were out flaunting luxuries acquired allegedly at the expense of taxpayers."

Auditors said from 2019 to 2023, New Chapel EMS received about $3.8 million from Clark and Floyd County taxpayers.

Over that same time period, Noel allegedly allowed about $4.4 million to be charged to the New Chapel EMS Amex.

"You had or did have an airplane, a train that was hidden, exotic motor vehicles, harem of women, at least three mansions," Medlock said.

His home on Old Tay Bridge is his primary residence, but documents said he also owns a home on Turnberry Drive near the Jeffersonville riverfront.

Auditors said he used the New Chapel credit card for $16,000 worth of new appliances there, along with thousands in other home repairs.

As for the for exotic and classic cars, police said those would be stored at a barn where car lifts were also allegedly fraudulently purchased.

Noel's wife Misty, and daughter Kasey Noel, are facing multiple felony charges for theft and tax evasion. Kasey Noel was arrested in March on nine felony charges, including five counts of theft and four counts of tax evasion. Search warrants in the corruption case of Jamey Noel indicate his daughter charged more than $100,000 to the Utica Volunteer Fire Department and New Chapel EMS.

According to the detailed charges, Kasey Noel purchased clothing, tanning, cosmetics, manicure and pedicure services, food, tickets, trips, alcohol, utilities, vaping products, gas, Netflix and items from Amazon. The charges occurred between October 2018 and September 2023, totaling $108,660.59.

A jury trial for Jamey Noel is scheduled to begin in November.

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