Date set for Alexander's federal case plea

The former Putnam County Sheriff's Depart-ment employee who allegedly stole $45,000 in federal grant money and then fled the county is set to plead guilty in federal court next week.

George Alexander will appear in front of Judge Larry J. McKinney at 10 a.m. on Nov. 28 for a plea agreement hearing. Last week, Alexander's attorney, William Marsh, filed a motion saying that his client intends to plead guilty -- on the same day that he was formally charged in federal court.

Though federal prosecutors cautioned that Alexander could withdraw his motion, Marsh said his client has no intention of doing that.

The former sheriff's department ombudsman was waiting to plead guilty to the charges until the feds picked up the case, Marsh said. He previously spent about five months in the Parke County Jail as his cases progressed through Putnam County courts.

Alexander does not currently have a plea agreement, though Marsh said there could be one by the time he is sentenced in a few months.

In May, Alexander was charged with theft for allegedly writing grant applications for bullet-proof vests and taking the money from an unmonitored sheriff's department account and depositing it into his own bank account.

Last month the federal government took custody of Alexander and transferred him to a community corrections facility run by the Volunteers of America in Indianapolis, where he is currently being held.

Alexander is still facing three counts of theft not related to the grant money and a perjury case in Putnam County. Marsh said he is trying to roll the rest of the charges into the federal case.