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Cloverdale marshal charged with theft in Cass County
LOGANSPORT -- The Cloverdale town marshal has been charged with three felony theft counts in Cass County.
Marshal Mike Clark, 54, Cloverdale, is charged with three Class D felony counts of theft. All three relate to Clark's tenure as Galveston town marshal.
The charges were filed in Cass Superior Court I on Monday, and a bench warrant was issued for Clark's arrest on Wednesday.
He made his initial court appearance on Thursday morning, entering preliminary not-guilty pleas to all three counts. Bond was set at $1,000 cash, $5,000 surety.
At this time, Clark is scheduled for an Aug. 9 jury trial.
Clark, who is also a Republican candidate for District 3 Putnam County commissioner, surrendered to Cass County deputies was booked in the Cass County Jail at 9:55 a.m. He bonded out at 10:18.
According to the probable cause affidavit filed by Indiana State Police Det. Josh Rozzi, the three counts all revolve around a bank account for Friends of the Galveston Police Department Inc., a non-profit organization created to help fund equipment and training for the Galveston PD.
Count 1 regards a matter when Clark was still the Galveston town marshal. State Police investigators allege that Clark was reimbursed twice for the same purchase.
Clark allegedly used the debit card associated with the Friends account on a two-night hotel stay in Indianapolis, apparently when he was in the city for some sort of training.
State Police allege that Clark subsequently requested and received reimbursement from the Town of Galveston for the hotel stay. However, the $161.46 charged to the card was apparently never deposited back into the Friends account.
Counts 2 and 3 concern the period between March 12, 2013, when Clark resigned as Glaveston town marshal, and April 30, 2013.
During that time, $1,922.67 was allegedly spent from the organization's account via ATM cash withdrawal or debit card purchases. Locations where purchases were made included TJ Maxx, Big Lots, Walmart, Rural King, AT&T, Menard's, Waste Management, CVS and Speedway.
The probable cause also noted that Clark was the only person with a card for the account during this period.
"Clark never informed (interim Town Marshal Shawn) Durham of the status of 'Friends of the Galveston Police Department' organization," Rozzi wrote, "and never turned in either Visa debit card issued for the account."
Rozzi also noted a lack of oversight of the Friends of the Galveston Police Department organization. In separate interviews, former Marshal James Jackson and Clark told the investigator that the executive committee was to meet twice a year, but this never happened.
"Even as money was being donated to the organization and spent, the organization never met to discuss their finances," Rozzi wrote.
Additionally, Rozzi wrote that between Jan. 31, 2011 and April 30, 2013, there were 25 ATM withdrawals made, totaling $1,846. However, only two receipts could be located for these withdrawals.
The organization was set up in 2008 to receive donations from the public. The donated money was to be used exclusively to pay for equipment and training for the Galveston Police Department.
At the time the Friends organization was set up, Marshal James Jackson and Clark had the two debit cards associated with the account. Upon Jackson's retirement in December 2010, only Clark had a card.
According to court documents, Rozzi found a number of inconsistencies when he interviewed Clark at the Peru State Police Post on April 8.
After being shown the paper trail for the double reimbursement for the hotel room Clark "agreed that this was a problem and that he must be responsible for the transaction/reimbursement."
Regarding the alleged purchases following Clark's resignation, Rozzi reported, "Initially Clark indicated he left the debit cards and checks in his office desk drawer, but later admitted he did use the card for unauthorized purchases, even after his resignation."
Rozzi reported that Clark was upset following their meeting.
"Clark appeared remorseful for his actions and indicated that this is how, after 30 years of law enforcement, he would be remembered," Rozzi wrote.
Clark began with the Galveston Police Department as a reserve in 1986, serving off and on until 2005. In 2006 or 2007, he was named full-time deputy marshal. Clark became town marshal on Jan. 1, 2011, following Jackson's retirement.
An article from the Logansport Pharos-Tribune dated March 17, 2013 described Clark's resignation in Galveston as abrupt.
Both the article and the probable cause cite a residency issue as the reason for Clark's resignation.
Clark has served as Cloverdale town marshal since June 2013.
His time in Cloverdale has been marked by a number of apparently positive community outreach products for the Cloverdale Police Department.
Among these were the establishment of a website for the department, obtainment of a number of grants for the department and establishing "Clovers, Cops and Christmas," an event in which the police department partnered with three local FFA chapters to provide Christmas meals and gifts for the needy in the community.
Putnam County Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter also lauded the Cloverdale Police Department in a February report, noting that its arrest numbers more than doubled from 2014 to 2015.
Clark is also the current president of the Indiana Marshal's Association. He has also helped other police departments in the procurement of grants, making such an offer to Fillmore Town Marshal Darrel Bunten and the Fillmore Town Council during its January meeting.
A message was left on Clark's mobile phone Thursday seeking comment.
Clark made a Facebook post Thursday morning, asking people to reserve judgment "until the whole story comes out."
"You are going to start hearing some pretty bad things about me," Clark wrote in part. "All I can say is that those of you close to me know the person that I am. Everyone else I ask that you realize there is always more to the story than what is reported."
No disciplinary action has been taken by the Cloverdale Town Council. However, within 30 minutes of Clark bonding out of jail, the Town Council announced a 5 p.m. Monday executive session.
Although not positively linked to Clark, the purpose of the session is to review an unnamed personnel matter, more specifically, to receive information regarding alleged misconduct before determining a person's status as an employee.