A former Clark County council member accused of receiving thousands of dollars in gifts from imprisoned former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel continues to fight his charge and wants his case dismissed.
John Miller, who served on the Clark County Council from 2021 to 2024 was charged last year with a low-level felony for conflict of interest.
Investigators say Noel gifted Miller with meals, trips and concert tickets worth thousands of dollars and that Miller, as a council member, voted in favor of contract funding for New Chapel EMS. The Clark County Commissioners, not council, approve contracts themselves.
Court records show Miller admitted to police that Noel, who he considered a good friend, had paid for some things. Records show Noel used New Chapel funds for at least some of those.
Noel operated New Chapel, which previously served all of Clark and most of Floyd County with EMS service. He’s currently in prison for charges including theft from the organization.
Miller’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss his case soon after he was charged last year, which Judge Larry Medlock denied. They took it to the Indiana Court of Appeals in March and in late August, the appellate court upheld Medlock’s rulings, saying the judge did not abuse discretion in his findings.
Miller’s attorneys have argued the charge itself does not constitute an offense.
Prosecutors say he voted to fund New Chapel, profited from the contract and benefitted from Noel/New Chapel, according to charging information. But Miller’s defense attorneys say the charge doesn’t establish that he profited from the contract itself, which they say is required.
Last week, Miller again asked the Indiana Court of Appeals to hear his case. In that filing, his attorneys argued in part that the question of whether any benefits he allegedly received equaled “profit from a contract” should be up to a judge, not a jury.
“Indiana precedent holds that the question of whether a charge states an offense is one of the court, not the jury,” according to the filing.
The court could decline to hear the case, or could rule against Miller again. If either happens, he’ll have 30 days to seek transfer to the Indiana Supreme Court, if he chooses.
Miller’s trial is scheduled for Oct. 27, but it’s not clear if that will happen.
Miller’s defense attorneys did not immediately return requests for comment.
Aside from Miller’s, only one other case remains open.
Former sheriff linked to investigation could plead guilty
Kenny Hughbanks, who served less than a year as sheriff of Scott County, pleaded not guilty in April to a low-level felony for tax evasion, but recent court records show that is likely to change.
His attorney filed a motion Tuesday asking for a hearing for Hughbanks to change his plea. No plea agreement had been filed as of Friday.
The accusations in this case are not directly linked to Noel, but police found the evidence while looking into Hughbanks as part of that investigation.
Ric Hertel, the special prosecutor in cases linked to the Noel investigation, said in an email parties are working toward a resolution and that he thinks they are “very close to finalizing it.”
Hughbanks’ attorney, Patrick Renn, did not respond to a call by publication time.
Police say Hughbanks and his wife used close to $124,000 from a family member with dementia and didn’t report that on tax returns. Hughbanks is also accused of selling more than $20,000 in miscellaneous items, like tools and bikes, without reporting that income. Police say he also profited $1,600 from the sale of a small train.
His wife has not been charged.
Hughbanks was also named along with Noel in a civil suit last by the Indiana Attorney General's Office. That followed an Indiana State Board Accounts finding that Noel paid Hughbanks or his related businesses more than $280,000 from the Clark County jail commissary fund.
Hertel, the prosecutor, previously said there didn’t appear to be cause for a criminal charge for Hughbanks on this.
Noel pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to 15 years, which includes three on probation. His earliest release is June 2033.
His now ex-wife, Misty, was sentenced to six years in July after pleading guilty to theft and tax evasion, though she’ll likely serve around a year. Misty Noel said in TV interviews the week she was sentenced that she didn’t knowingly commit the crimes and that her husband ran the family finances.
Judge Medlock initially called this into question and ordered Misty Noel in for possible contempt of court, but changed course.
Their daughter, Kasey, served less than a year in custody for theft and tax evasion and is on probation.
To add: Former Clark County Council Member Brittney Ferree pleaded guilty to a felony for conflict of interest earlier this year and was sentenced to probation.
Coverage of Southern Indiana is funded, in part, by Samtec Inc., the Hazel & Walter T. Bales Foundation, and the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County.
