Court records detail some of the allegations levied against arrested Warrick commissioners

EVANSVILLE – Through many thousands of words in seven sworn affidavits, the Indiana State Police painted a portrait of a Warrick County Commission intent on seizing control of embattled county departments by any means necessary – up to and including an alleged retaliatory firing of a whistleblower and the issuance of orders discouraging county personnel from cooperating with investigators.

On Thursday, state troopers arrested the three Warrick County Commissioners, Terry Phillippe, Dan Saylor and Robert Henry Johnson Jr., who for years formed the core of Warrick County's government, wherein the commission serves as both a legislative and executive authority.

The special prosecutor overseeing their cases, Samantha Hurst, of Perry County, Indiana, charged the trio on Tuesday with official misconduct and obstruction of justice, both Level 6 felonies and one misdemeanor count of false informing, court records show. Phillippe faces an additional charge of perjury.

Formally charging the commissioners marked a stunning turn of events for an investigation that had already netted the arrests of former Warrick County Animal Control Director Danielle Barnes and two others accused of mishandling public funds and orchestrating an unlawful pet adoption scheme.

In a news release Thursday, the commissioners said they were unaware of the "specific nature of the charges."

“The Commissioners do not believe they did anything incorrectly during this investigation, and worked diligently to address problems at Animal Control," commissioners attorney Anthony Long said. "They are anxious to review the probable cause affidavit and they look forward to having light shed on this situation. Terry Phillipe, Robert Johnson and Dan Saylor are dedicated public servants who work tirelessly to improve life for citizens in Warrick County, and we look forward to and expect their complete exoneration.”

Affidavits of probable cause filed Wednesday in Warrick County Circuit Court lay out detectives' rationale for arresting the commissioners, who are all members of the Warrick County Republican Party. The documents, which together run dozens of pages, levy a barrage of allegations against Phillippe, Saylor, and Johnson, including accusations that all three lied to the state police.

Phillippe, who is affiliated with the company ERS Wireless, stands accused of failing to file conflict of interest disclosure forms for years even while ERS Wireless submitted project proposals to the county and, of the three commissioners, Phillippe appears to have forged a close relationship with Barnes.

According to investigators, Phillippe communicated privately with Barnes over a span of months, at times while Barnes utilized a social media alias. An analysis of cellphone data and other records allegedly shows that Phillippe obtained information from Barnes about her nonprofit, Warrick Animal Guardians, despite Phillippe having told detectives he knew little about the organization's work at Warrick County Animal Control.

Commissioners not initial focus of investigation

Since at least Dec. 7, the Indiana State Police had tasked Master Trooper Patrick S. Stinson with conducting a "special investigation" into alleged crimes committed by Barnes and others while Barnes headed up Warrick County Animal Control, according to Stinson's written statement in a sworn affidavit.

At that point in early December, Stinson said he had little reason to suspect the county's commissioners of any wrongdoing. That would soon change.

On Dec. 12, the Warrick County Commissioners' attorney, Todd Glass, informed county employees about a new ordinance placing the authority to oversee animal control squarely in the hands of the commissioners, according to the state police.

Glass' email to county personnel, which is cited in public court records, concluded with a direct and specific order: Recipients should promptly forward him information regarding any county employee or officials' communications with investigatory agencies ‒ including the Indiana State Police.

"All communications with these entities will be directly solicited to the commissioner's office," Glass wrote in the email. " Your prompt attention to sending this information is necessary and will be anticipated".

The message was clear, according to Stinson, who spearheaded much of the investigation: Animal control employees reportedly told ISP detectives they "felt like they were being ordered not to speak with or cooperate with the Indiana State Police, federal law enforcement and the Public Licensing Agency," Stinson wrote in Phillippe's arrest affidavit.

The employees also reportedly told investigators they believed the commissioners had assumed oversight of Warrick County Animal Control in an attempt to cover up Barnes' alleged crimes. On Dec. 13, state troopers arrested Barnes while detectives executed a search warrant at her Candler, Indiana, home.

Some charges come down to what commissioners knew and when

In mid-December, Stinson and ISP Detective Sgt. Brock Werne traveled to the Warrick County Courthouse to meet with Phillippe, Saylor and Johnson. Their discussion initially focused on Barnes and her nonprofit, commonly referred to as WAG.

"After introductions, the first question that I asked the commissioners was if they knew that Danielle Barnes was running WAG from animal control," Werne later wrote in a sworn affidavit. "Dan Saylor said no. Bob Johnson said no. Terry Phillippe said no."

When asked if the commissioners had any documentation regarding Barnes and her nonprofit, the commissioners again stated they did not, according to Werne, who said he did not doubt the commissioners' claims and that he "took them at their word."

Also during the December meeting, Stinson and Werne recalled the commissioners launching a "verbal attack" against a key witness in the investigation, a person the detectives described to the commissioners as a "whistleblower," according to Werne's written statement.

Testimony from that witness and a review of records would later show that the commissioners knew about WAG's role at animal control and concerns about Barnes months before the state opened its investigation.

For example, in March 2023, Saylor and Phillippe reportedly visited Warrick County Animal Control facilities and listened as Barnes explained which items had been donated by WAG: "They saw all of the donations that had come in for WAG fundraisers," the witness wrote in a statement listed in public court records. "Ms. Barnes gave them an update as to how WAG was contributing to the county..."

During a Jan. 9, 2023, commission meeting, Phillippe, Saylor and Johnson all voted to pass a consent agenda that included an item titled, "The acceptance of the Warrick Animal Guardians donation of building at Animal Control location."

The vote and the reported meeting with Barnes are two incidents the ISP point to as evidence the commissioners lied to detectives when they denied knowing Barnes had operated her private nonprofit from Warrick County Animal Control.

Commissioners allegedly fired whistleblower

One day before Barnes' arrest in December, the situation between the commissioners, the health department and the ISP came to a head when the commissioners fired the Warrick County Health Department's now-former designee, Aaron Franz. The attempted firing is now the subject of an ongoing lawsuit.

In laying out its case against Phillippe, Saylor and Johnson, the ISP alleged in stark terms that the men sought to fire Franz in retaliation after the public health official refused to carry out what he described as "unethical" and "illegal orders."

Just 20 minutes after Franz told an ISP detective the commissioners had threatened to terminate his employment, Franz received notice that he had indeed been fired, court records state. The three commissioners have publicly stated they fired Franz due to poor job performance.

Stinson wrote in Phillippe's arrest affidavit that Warrick County Health Department employees took Franz's firing as a warning to "not cooperate with our investigation." But, the unnamed health department staffers and officials ignored that warning and continued to cooperate with the state police.

Documents dispute commissioner-prepared 'timeline'

On Feb. 1, Phillippe, Saylor and Johnson staged a news conference that would feature a surrogate spokesperson and Warrick County's new director of animal control. As reporters, members of the public, and interested attorneys gathered in the commissioners' meeting room, printed "timelines" were offered.

The one-page document spelled out from the commissioners' point of view what had happened between Barnes, Warrick County Animal Control, the Warrick County Health Department, and the commission. According to court records, the state police now consider that timeline to be evidence of a crime – confirmation that the commissioners "lied and withheld documents in our investigation," an ISP detective later wrote.

That's because the timeline claims the commissioners received only "limited documentation" from the Warrick County Health Department between Dec. 1 and Dec. 4 regarding Barnes' alleged criminal activities. But a letter dated Dec. 1 and addressed to the county's human resources department spells out in great detail a slew of allegations involving Barnes, Warrick County Animal Control, and WAG.

April Edwards, the Warrick County Health Department attorney, wrote in the letter that "Barnes was utilizing her position with (Warrick County Animal Control) to run her business of WAG while getting paid by the county to perform her job duties with (Warrick County Animal Control).

Phillippe, Saylor and Johnson are all scheduled to appear before a Warrick County judge for their initial hearings Feb. 16. at 9 a.m., according to court records. Following their Thursday arrests, all three posted $500 cash bonds and secured a their release from the Warrick County jail.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: ISP: Commissioners lied about knowledge of Barnes allegations