One day before the trial was set to start for the criminal cases State of Indiana v. Richard L. Kelly and State of Indiana v. Ashley A. Kelly, the Clinton County Sheriff and Matron, Special Judge Lori Schein granted a motion for continuance, and a count was dismissed for both defendants.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed in the case in the Clinton County Circuit Court in March 2022, Indiana State Police began investigating in February 2022 the matter of alleged criminal activity by Sheriff Kelly and Matron Kelly for allegedly improperly running the county jail’s commissary.
The affidavit, signed by Indiana State Police Sgt. Joseph White with the ISP Special Investigations Section of the Organized Crime and Corruption Unit, alleged that the Kellys improperly contracted with Leonne LLC, a company that they created, to manage commissary operations at the jail, an arrangement, according to the affidavit, that netted them checks of $177,000 in commissary profits over two years. The report stated that a lack of transparency was present, and a disclosure agreement was not filed until October 2021, which reportedly violated the mandate set forth by the State Board of Accounts as it was more than two years after the start of operations.
The initial investigations led to charges of three counts of official misconduct, level 6 felonies, and one count of conflict of interest, level 6 felony, to be filed by the State against both defendants.
Following the pretrial conference on Monday, April 7, based on court documents, a judgement filed by Judge Schein dismissed one of the four felony counts filed against the Kellys. The dismissed charge was official misconduct, Level 6 Felony, for a public servant who knowingly or intentionally commits an offense in the performance of the public servant’s official duties. The dismissal of the charge lowers the charges to two counts of official misconduct and one count of conflict of interest.
Also following the pretrial conference, a motion for continuance was filed ahead of the jury trial that was slated to begin on Tuesday, April 8, which was granted by Judge Schein as filed on April 8. The Kellys reportedly stated that the motion for continuance was sparked due to the receipt of approximately 3,000 documents, including audio files, that were made available to the defendants the week prior to the scheduled start of the jury trial. According to the Kellys, the documents and audios were delivered as a result of a two-year-old discovery request that was filed.
The attorney for Matron Kelly requested the court to conduct a hearing on sanctions against County Attorney Thomas Little, the law firm of Power, Little, Little & Little and the attorneys that represent Little in regard to the delay in complying with the court’s order.
On April 9, a motion for enlargement of time was filed by Attorney Little to serve updated privilege log, which was granted by Judge Schein per court documents filed on April 10.
Numerous subpoenas were filed for those involved with the case and the county on April 3 and April 4, including members of the Board of Commissioners, department heads, members of the Clinton County Council and more. Additional subpoenas were also filed following the order to grant continuance on April 8, including County Attorney Tom Little.
A pretrial conference has been scheduled for Monday, April 14 at 11:30 a.m. in the Boone Circuit Court to determine the course of action regarding the case as well as set a hearing on sanctions. The pretrial conference has also been set to discuss a defense motion to dismiss another count in the case for “Richard L. Kelly receiving commissary funds through his ownership in Leonne LLC.” According to the initial filings, Matron Kelly owned 51% of the company while Sheriff Kelly owned 49%.
As of today, April 11, court documents state that the Kellys still face charges of Conflict of Interest and two counts of Official Misconduct, all level 6 felonies. As of April 11, a jury trial has not been set due to the granting of a continuance and an enlargement of time, and no decision has been made in favor or against either party in the case in terms of guilt.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in the court of law.
The civil case, which may only carry a penalty of $219,634.65 in pecuniary damages, $109,725.82 in audit costs and an additional $439,269.30 in treble damages if summary judgment is granted, of State of Indiana ex rel. Todd Rokita, Attorney General of Indiana v. Richard Kelly, Ashley Kelly, Leonne, LLC, Et Al will continue separately from the criminal proceedings, which could carry penalties of jail time if the defendants are found guilty, following the most recent order granting an enlargement of time filed on March 17, which allows the defendants to file their response to the State’s motion for summary judgment until April 22.
For more information regarding the civil case, visit the stories below:
