Jamey Noel case: Indiana State Police finds 26 shipping containers with military surplus equipment

Indiana State Police investigators said they found approximately 26 shipping containers filled with military surplus equipment they allege two former southern Indiana sheriffs were storing for personal use.

The containers allegedly belong to former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel and his associate, Kenneth Hughbanks, who briefly served as sheriff in Scott County. Officials said the containers were marked as "New Chapel property," in reference to the Utica Fire Department Noel previously led.

The containers, along with a forklift and a train that once belonged to a power plant in Jeffersonville, were found at an oil storage facility in Deputy, Indiana, investigators said.

Investigators located the items after they flew a helicopter over another property in Deputy and did not find the containers they learned of from an official with the Utica Fire Department. After speaking with the owner of the property, they learned the surplus property has been transported to the oil storage facility.

Previously reviewed financial records show Hughbanks and his wife failed to report over $214,000 in taxable income for their consulting company, which provided services to the Clark County Sheriff's Office while Noel was in office, investigators allege.

A Clark County official interviewed by investigators said Hughbanks once ordered workers to remove records labeled as "commissary," "commissary credit cards," and "bank statements" from a file room and investigators stated they could not find any of Clark County's 2018 jail commissary records.

Noel has been charged on 25 felonies, which include theft, tax evasion and ghost employment and is set to go to trial in May. Hughbanks has not been criminally charged.

Lt. Jeremy Hearon, lead investigator on the case for Indiana police, said he anticipated meeting with special prosecutor Richard Hertel about bringing forward additional charges.

More:What charges does former Clark County sheriff Jamey Noel face?