Jamey Noel led Governor Eric Holcomb’s campaign, chaired his reelection bid, and got a personal invitation to Trump’s inauguration from Mike Pence. He also spent years looting millions from the fire department and EMS agency he ran, buying vintage cars, personal jets, and vacations with taxpayer money meant for first responders. He just got 15 years, and he’ll likely only serve about nine and a half of them.
Former Clark County Sheriff and longtime Republican operative Jamey Noel was sentenced to 15 years in prison on October 14, 2024, after a judge accepted guilty pleas to more than a dozen felony charges in a case Indiana State Police called the largest in the agency’s history.
What He Actually Did
Noel was originally charged with 31 felonies for allegedly misusing money from the Utica Volunteer Firefighters Association and New Chapel EMS, both agencies he personally oversaw. He pleaded guilty to 27 of those charges back in August, and agreed at sentencing to plead to charges of theft, money laundering, corrupt business influence, official misconduct, obstruction of justice, and tax evasion. Four additional charges of ghost employment were dropped as part of the plea deal.
State prosecutors, working off a long-term Indiana State Police investigation, alleged Noel used millions of taxpayer dollars from the two agencies to fund a personal lifestyle: cars, planes, vacations, clothing, and other luxury purchases. Public funds were also allegedly used to cover his college tuition and child support payments. Investigators confiscated at least 40 vehicles from his personal classic car collection, including two 1970 Plymouth Superbirds, a 1959 Corvette, and 1966 and 1968 Chargers. Noel also admitted to tasking county employees with maintaining that same car collection on the public’s dime.
Court documents further show at least $33,000 in public funds went toward political donations to various Republican candidates and campaigns between 2020 and 2023, meaning stolen taxpayer money helped fund the very party apparatus that had championed him.
The People He Betrayed Told the Court Directly
Special Judge Larry Medlock accepted Noel’s plea following two hours of victim testimony, with 21 statements given in open court, including from law enforcement officers who’d worked with or under Noel, and from Hoosiers whose lives had been upended by his conduct.
Roger Montgomery Jr., a first responder who worked under Noel from 2005 to 2011, didn’t hold back: “As firefighters, first responders and public servants, we take a higher oath. We are held to a higher standard of integrity.” Montgomery said firefighters and paramedics lacked proper equipment under Noel’s command, while emergency personnel were sometimes pulled off duty to drive Noel’s personal “limousines,” at times leaving just one firefighter on call and “putting citizens’ lives in jeopardy.” He added that non-emergency transfers were routinely prioritized over 911 calls because they netted more Medicare and Medicaid money.
“Jamey Noel has betrayed the trust of the public, and any first responder, or anyone else that’s ever worn a badge and taken that oath,” Montgomery said. “He did so knowingly and willingly for personal gain, and that personal gain was put ahead of patients and the lives of the people that worked for him.”
Judge Medlock was similarly blunt from the bench: “You’ve tarnished the badge and failed everyone in law enforcement.” He said he would have preferred a harsher sentence, but worried it could open the door to a successful appeal.
The Sentence and the Money Owed
Noel begins a 15-year sentence, with three years suspended to probation. He’ll get credit for time served starting June 8, and under Indiana law could shave time off with good behavior, likely landing him at roughly nine and a half years actually behind bars.
The plea deal also requires Noel to repay more than $3.1 million in public funds: $2,870,924 to the Utica Volunteer Firefighters Association, $61,190 to the Clark County Sheriff’s Department, $173,155 to the Indiana Department of Revenue, and $35,245 to the Indiana State Police. Medlock additionally imposed a $270,000 fine, tacking on $10,000 for each guilty count.
Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter, who addressed the court directly, said he’d had conversations with Noel about money management as far back as 2015, but that Noel was chasing “power, control and money” rather than public trust. “Politics should never be the number one priority,” Carter said, “but it was for Jamey.”
His Family Faces Charges Too
Noel’s wife, Misty, who has since filed for divorce, and his daughter, Kasey, separately face their own charges of theft and tax evasion. Both have pleaded not guilty, and their trial date, originally set for late October, has been pushed back with no new date announced.
This Isn’t the End of His Legal Trouble
Noel still faces multiple ongoing civil cases, including two brought by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita seeking repayment to the state agencies Noel took from. In one filing, Rokita said Noel should be required to reimburse the Clark County jail commissary fund more than $900,000 for “funds misappropriated, diverted, or misapplied,” a figure drawn from a State Board of Accounts audit. Rokita also sought a restraining order blocking Noel from selling off real estate, stocks, vehicles, firearms, and jewelry while those cases proceed. A May court ruling has already barred the Noel family from selling any assets.
Separately, Noel faces a lawsuit from the children of his deceased brother, Leon, alleging he stole from their inheritance while managing their father’s estate. It also remains unclear whether Noel will still qualify for a public pension; state officials say his time with state police could make him eligible for retirement benefits, though Carter noted Noel had previously received only a “separation benefit” for failing to meet the agency’s pension requirements.