Dubois County Sheriff Tom Kleinhelter Charged with Felony and Three Misdemeanors

After a special prosecutor declined to file charges in an earlier investigation, Dubois County Sheriff Tom Kleinhelter has now been charged with one felony and three misdemeanors by Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears. Last year, Kleinhelter was the subject of an Indiana State Police probe into the alleged misappropriation of jail commissary funds. Although the initial special prosecutor chose not to pursue charges, the Marion County prosecutor alleges that Kleinhelter provided false information to investigators. 

In their public statement, the Dubois County Sheriff's Office said that the “announcement of criminal charges filed against Sheriff Tom Kleinhelter in Marion County came as a shock to the Sheriff and to the officers and employees of this office.” They emphasized the sheriff’s right to defend himself in the legal system, but said, “We have a job to do as sworn officers and as public servants and we will do that job with passion and fairness now and always. The pending case does not change our mission or our commitment to it. Dubois County citizens should feel safe, supported, and confident in the work of the Sheriff’s Office. The officers of the Sheriff’s Office are professionals who will perform their critical duties with competence and integrity while this matter is pending.” The department said there will be no further comment. 
 
As previously reported by WITZ, a regular audit in 2024 by the Indiana State Board of Accounts (SBOA) found purchases from the fund that were outside the Sheriff’s discretionary spending authority. The questionable expenditures from 2021 to 2023 led to a special investigation. 

An affidavit (obtained by WITZ through the Freedom of Information Act) filed on April 9, 2026 by ISP Lt. Hearon, who served as lead investigator during the lengthy 2024 case, included a detailed examination of the sheriff’s expenses and reimbursements. The audit found approximately $78,000 in questionable charges through the Sheriff’s Commissary fund, which he authorized. Documentation showed that professional travel to conferences often included charges for personal activities including golf and other non-work-related expenses. Of particular issue was a trip to Dubai for a law enforcement conference, including airfare for his wife, who was not an employee of the department. In mid-2024, Kleinhelter was directed to return $16,774.71 to the commissary fund from his personal account. After the ISP investigation, Orange County Prosecuting Attorney Holly Hudelson declined to file charges, citing the returned funds and lack of criminal intent. 

According to court records, Kleinhelter is now being charged with one count of official misconduct, classified as a Level 6 felony, along with three counts of false informing, each a Class B misdemeanor. The charges were announced on Thursday by Ryan Mears, the Marion County prosecutor. They are based on statements Kleinhelter made during his December 19, 2024 interview with Indiana State Police, which was recorded. The interview was part of the jail commissary misuse of funds investigation. Filing documents were submitted by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office on April 9, 2026. They state that “On or about December 19, 2024,” Kleinhelter: 
Count 1 (Official Misconduct, Level 6 Felony) – “knowingly committed an offense to-wit: False Informing, in the performance of his official duties.” 
Count 2 (False Informing, Class B Misdemeanor) – “did give false information to a law enforcement officer relating to the commission of a crime, to-wit: that THOMAS J. KLEINHELTER'S June 21, 2021 and June 24, 2021 purchases of golf rounds using Dubois County commissary funds was included in the National Sheriff's Association Conference; knowing said information to be false.” 
Count 3 (False Informing, Class B Misdemeanor) – “did give false information to a law enforcement officer relating to the commission of a crime, to-wit: that THOMAS J. KLEINHELTER'S May 2023 purchase of two airline tickets to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, using Dubois County commissary funds was refunded in an airline e-credit and not a credit to his American Express account; knowing said information to be false.” 
Count 4 – (False Informing, Class B Misdemeanor) – “did give false information to a law enforcement officer relating to the commission of a crime, to-wit: that THOMAS J. KLEINHELTER had not made his wife, Angela Kleinhelter, a Dubois County Special Deputy, knowing said information to be false.” 

In the 2026 Affidavit for Probable Cause sworn by Lt. Hearon, excerpts from the recorded December 19, 2024 interview were transcribed, accompanied by pertinent documentation that included text messages retrieved from Kleinhelter’s phone and files from his laptop, emails, receipts, and the meta data of photos from his phone. Hearon highlighted multiple parts of the interview that seemed to present conflicting claims, particularly in regard to whether (and when) the sheriff appointed his wife as a special deputy. 

Kleinhelter was questioned about a special deputy form, submitted with the 2024 ISA Registration. It was dated 06/06/2024, and appointed his wife, Angela Kleinhelter (referred to as A.K. in the Affidavit), as a special deputy. The sheriff responded, “Yeah. Made her a special deputy. Just exactly what the State Board of Accounts told me to do.” In previous statements, according to the affidavit, Kleinhelter has said his wife “was not a special deputy and had never been a special deputy. This was also stated during the interview on 10/28/2024.” Kleinhelter was questioned about why the appointment was made. He responded, “State Board of Accounts told me to. Except if I would've made her a special deputy, all of this stuff would've been totally fine. But instead of lying, I told the truth and paid back money, so that I wouldn't be a liar.” 

In response to inquiries about his wife’s qualifications for the role, Kleinhelter said, “Don't need any qualifications. If you read the statute, it's pretty self-explanatory.” IC 36-8-10-10.6 grants sheriffs the power to appoint a special deputy for someone when “the nature of which employment necessitates that the person have the powers of a law enforcement officer.” Kleinhelter acknowledged that his wife’s employment did not require these powers, but asserted that her role as his spouse made her privy to confidential information. He also said that she sometimes gave advice on HR-related issues. 

The sheriff was asked if his wife was made a special deputy in 2019, as one of the documents from his computer listed the date as 2019 on the top right corner. According to the 2026 affidavit, Kleinhelter denied making his wife a special deputy in 2019. He refused to explain the document, when asked, saying, “this is not the one that I have on file.” He was shown both special deputy documents signed by his wife. The one submitted with the ISA Conference receipt displayed a header date of 07/01/2023, but his wife signed and dated it as 06/06/2024. The second document had a header of 01/01/2019, which was signed (but not dated) by his wife, and was the document that was recovered from his laptop on 08/20/2024. After being told that the form had been retrieved from the laptop, he replied, “I was advised to make it. To backdate it.” He was asked why, to which he responded, “I'm not gonna say, but I didn't put that one on file.” 

Kleinhelter estimated that the backdated document was created around 06/06/2024. Asked why he backdated the paperwork, Kleinhelter said, “I took advice that I shouldn't have taken. That's why we did it.” Asked for elaboration, he replied, “No. There’s no reason to elaborate. If I would have, I could have said that she was a special deputy. Plain and simple. What I'm seeing, I'm sitting here telling the truth and you're not believing me. So, why?!” 

Asked if his wife’s advice required law enforcement power, Kleinhelter answered, “No, but she doesn't need to. No special deputy needs law enforcement powers. It can be given, but if you look under the special deputy statute, there's a whole lot of things that you can do.” When asked what other duties she had performed in that role, Kleinhelter replied, “She has not. She's never, never, I've never, I didn't make her a special deputy.” The 2026 affidavit says that after the contradictory nature of the claim was noted, Kleinhelter said, “Well, I did now, 'cause I was told to by the State Board of Accounts, but if I would've back in 2019, then I wouldn't, then everything would've been fine.“ In the 2024 interview, the sheriff did not provide the dates of the appointment, or if such an appointment existed, and insisted that the statute does not require him to document special deputy appointments. 

In the 2026 affidavit, Lt. Hearon concluded, “Based upon the State Board of Accounts audit findings, financial and airline records, digital forensic evidence, text message communications, and the recorded interview conducted on December 19, 2024, in Marion County, Indiana, I have probable cause to believe that Thomas J. Kleinhelter committed the offenses of False Informing, and Official Misconduct. During the December 19, 2024, interview, Kleinhelter knowingly provided materially false information to law enforcement officers regarding the receipt and handling of refunded public funds, thereby committing False Informing under IC 35- 44.1-2-3. At the time those statements were made, an active criminal investigation was underway concerning his administration of the Jail Commissary Fund, and at the time of the interview, Kleinhelter was serving as the elected sheriff of Dubois County, was wearing attire identifying him as sheriff, was armed, and was speaking about matters directly arising from his official administration of public funds, and by committing the above-described offenses in connection with his official duties, he committed Official Misconduct under IC 35-44.1-1-1 . All these events occurred in the state of Indiana.” 

As reported by Indiana Capital Chronicle, Lt. Hearon received formal disciplinary action by the ISP for sharing the 2024 probable cause affidavit. He was also reprimanded for an email he sent to the prosecutor that was deemed unprofessional when he questioned her decision not to charge Kleinhelter. The findings of the ISP, issued by Superintendent Anthony Scott, were that Hearon acted “outside the bounds of professional expectations” with the email to Hudelson. Hearon had no prior infractions in his 37-year career in law enforcement. The disciplinary report claimed that Hearon violated three agency policies: “disseminating information not disclosable to the public,” “conduct unbecoming of an officer,” and “overbearing and/or oppressive conduct in the discharge of his duties.” This resulted in suspension without pay for two days, reassignment to the Indiana Intelligence Fusion Center, and being removed as an instructor at the Indiana Law Enforcement Agency. Hearon intends to defend himself against the sanctions levied against him with the ISP Board. 

For more information on these and other updates, visit www.witzamfm.com/news 

 - Drew Hasselbring