The longstanding tensions between Clinton County Sheriff Richard Kelly and the county’s Board of Commissioners have intensified, spurred by criminal and civil legal battles tied to Kelly’s handling of the county jail commissary.
Origins of the dispute are partially based upon commisary arrangements. In 2019, Sheriff Kelly appointed his wife, Ashley Kelly, as both jail matron and manager of the commissary, via Leonne LLC, a business the couple founded together. An audit by the Indiana State Board of Accounts (SBOA) found that between January 2019 and September 2021, Leonne LLC received approximately $190,916.61, and Ashley Kelly personally received around $32,967.92—claimed as half the commissary’s profits. Legal and procedural challenges have abounded since that time.
The arrangement led to a lawsuit filed by the Board of Commissioners (joined by the County Council), seeking declaratory relief to prohibit Sheriff Kelly from allocating commissary funds without county approval. Documents revealed that no written contracts had initially been executed; a retroactive agreement wasn’t drafted until October 2021, which raised serious concerns regarding transparency and procedure.
In a June 2022 ruling, the trial court found that Ashley Kelly was a 51% member of Leonne LLC, while Sheriff Kelly held 49%, highlighting potential conflicts of interest. Distributions to Leonne LLC and Ashley Kelly were not properly documented as legitimate “expenses of operating the commissary.” Although “expenses” related to operating the commissary are permissible under the law, the court determined that profit disbursements required mutual agreement with the county fiscal body—a condition not met in this case.
In March 2022, both Richard and Ashley Kelly were indicted on multiple level-6 felony counts—three for official misconduct and one for criminal conflict of interest—stemming from their commissary arrangement. In April of this year, just before the planned jury trial scheduled for April 8, one felony count was dismissed, reducing the charges to two counts of official misconduct and one count of conflict of interest. The trial was postponed when an extensive batch of discovery documents was provided to the defense in the final week before trial.
The conflict underscores foundational disagreements over authority and accountability. For instance, Sheriff Kelly has stated the law grants the sheriff autonomy over commissary funds and staffing. The Commissioners, pointing to state statutes, argue that while some expenditures are allowable under the sheriff’s discretion, substantial profit-sharing arrangements must be subject to county oversight.
The civil litigation brought by both the state (representing the State Board of Accounts) and the county remains active, as county leadership seeks both restitution and clear procedural safeguards moving forward. On July 8 of this year, there was a civil case hearing in Tipton County Circuit Court (AG vs. Kellys). A decision in that case could have seen the Kellys owing hundreds of thousands of dollars immediately if the judge had ruled in favor of AG Todd Rokita. However, the Tipton County judge was ill that day. As of the publication of this story, KNS Radio News has not found a rescheduled court date for this.
This has put the sheriff on the defensive and made the professional relationship with the commissioners a rocky one as you can listen to an excerpt from the most recent commissioner’s meeting, less than one week ago, below. In it, Sheriff Kelly accuses Commissioner President Jordan Brewer of being “perverse” on the issue of trying to finalize a job description for whoever is the matron in the future, a position that his wife, Ashley, currently holds. Kelly also defends his decision to change security camera pass codes recently at the jail, citing security reasons. Brewer points out key personnel who are authorized to have access to those went 12 hours without. Listen to the audio below. It runs about 7 minutes.
Ashley is also right in the middle of an active political campaign where she is running for sheriff of Clinton County. She is hoping to remain on the ballot for the vote, which will be one year from this upcoming November. Two other individuals with law enforcement experience will also be on the May primary ballot. Jake Myers, a 20-plus-year veteran of FPD, and Brendon Bright, a former detective captain at the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department who is also currently a full-time investigator for the Clinton County Prosecutors’ Office.
Criminal charges are also pending against Richard and Ashley Kelly in another case. In the criminal case, the State has dropped the charge of Conflict of Interest, leaving three charges of Official Misconduct, though these cases remain “undecided” with a trial date set for October 14.
The Kellys have filed lawsuits against County Attorney Thomas Little in Tippecanoe County and Clinton County Prosecutor Anthony Sommer in Boone County. Each of these cases remains “undecided.”