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Another arrest made in case
A Hendricks County arrest involving a reserve sheriff's deputy has been made in relation to the case against a former Putnam County Sheriff's Department employee accused of taking $45,000 in federal funds for his personal use.
William Kent Goldman, 54, Ellettsville, was arrested at 11:17 a.m. Friday by Det. Brian Smith of the Indiana State Police at Putnamville. Goldman, who has served as a reserve deputy with the Putnam County Sheriff's Department, was arrested without incident on a charge of assisting a criminal, a class D felony, while at his place of employment, Andy Mohr Ford in Plainfield.
He was booked into the Hendricks County Jail at Danville at 12:30 p.m. Friday, and was released on a $5,000 bond at 1 p.m. Friday.
Sgt. Scott Stockton explained that Goldman rented a room for George Alexander at the Holiday Inn Express at Plainfield, knowing that Alexander was wanted on a Putnam County warrant for an ongoing ISP investigation into the misuse of federal grant money. By assisting Alexander, Stockton explained, Goldman committed a crime equal in penalty to the crime of which Alexander is accused.
Goldman was questioned by Troopers Chris Harcourt and Cory Robinson about his involvement with Alexander after ISP discovered that Alexander was staying at the hotel.
"These are blatant crimes," Stockton said, adding that Goldman knew that criminal charges against him were pending last week after he spoke to police about Alexander. Goldman is the fleet manager at Andy Mohr Ford in Plainfield, the dealership which loaned Alexander an auto he used while employed by the sheriff's department.
Putnam County Sheriff Mark Frisbie said Goldman was placed on administrative last week, and was released from the reserve department on Friday. Reserve deputies are volunteers who are trained as police officers and assist the department with patrols and other law enforcement duties.
Frisbie said Goldman was a friend of Alexander.
"He's a heck of a good person, and he was put in a bad spot, and he made the wrong decision," Frisbie said of Goldman's action in assisting Alexander.
Alexander was arrested by police Monday night after he turned himself in to a Rockville Police officer in Parke County. Because of his association with the Putnam County Jail and sheriff's department, Alexander has been housed at the Parke County Jail, but he did appear in Putnam Superior Court on Tuesday to face two D felony counts of theft. His bond was set at $500,000, with $50,000 cash allows.
Alexander's attorney, Jeffrey Boggess of Greencastle, has filed a motion to correct error with the Putnam Superior Court.
That motion challenges the bond amount as being unreasonable according to state law.
"The statutory factors," the motion states, "weigh heavily toward a bond amount at the typical level of $500 cash as Mr. Alexander is a longtime resident of Putnam County, has family in the area, surrendered himself to authorities, and the possible penalties for conviction are not severe."
The maximum sentence in Indiana for a D felony is three years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
A court ruling on the motion had not been issued as of noon Friday.
Sgt. Stockton told the BannerGraphic on Friday that the investigation into the misappropriation of the federal grant funds is continuing. He said that additional arrests could be made next week.
In a matter related to Alexander's case, Sheriff Frisbie confirmed that Reserve Deputy Alan Bullington has also been suspended from the sheriff's department.
Bullington is employed by the Putnam County Community Corrections program and has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the ISP investigation, Frisbie said.