Ex-trustee's choices: Reach an agreement or face trial in December
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Indicted former Fairfield Township Trustee Taletha Coles' case of 42 charges is either headed to a plea agreement or to trial on Dec. 4.
Coles appeared Friday morning for a hearing on her case, which stems from grand jury indictments alleging misuse of township funds and property. The charges include corrupt business influence, theft, fraud, forgery. The charges also include four charges of official misconduct — one for each year of Coles tenure as trustee.
Her trial was scheduled to begin late next month, but it was continued Friday at the request of Coles' attorney, Alexandra Dowers.
During Friday's hearing in Tippecanoe Superior 1, Dowers and Deputy Prosecutor Natasha Corbett said they were in negotiations over a possible resolution to the case. They did not indicate how those discussions might be going and whether a plea agreement might be achievable.
Judge Randy Williams set Nov. 3 as a pretrial hearing and Dec. 4 for Coles' jury selection, with Coles' trial starting Dec. 5 with opening statements.
Williams indicated that Coles' trial likely would not be postponed again.
Coles refused to open the township's financial records to the public or to the township board.
The Journal & Courier's request to inspect public records were denied in September 2021, and the J&C filed a complaint with the Indiana Public Access Counselor's Office. Two months later, Public Access Counselor Luke Britt authored a sharp opinion rebuking Coles for not allowing the public to see the records.
More: Opinion of the Public Access Counselor
After the J&C gave Coles more opportunities to produce the public records after the opinion cited her in violation of the law, Coles continued refused, so the Journal & Courier filed a civil lawsuit. That lawsuit forced Coles to produce credit card records. Those records showed that Coles used taxpayer money on personal items, self-improvement classes, massages, lunches and nail salon outings for her and the staff.
More: Fairfield Township taxpayers funding trustee's meditation, massages, online learning
More: Fairfield Township trustee Taletha Coles ran up $72K to credit card charges in two years
More: Fairfield Township trustee charged $41K on credit card in 2021
Former township employees told the Journal & Courier about witnessing Coles driving the township's pickup truck for personal reasons, driving it drunk and purchasing it without approval of the township board.
On May 20, 2022, Indiana State Police served search warrants at the township's properties as part of an investigation into the township. Later that afternoon, state police searched Coles' house in the 1200 block of Roberts Street as part of an investigation into Coles.
Coles and former Wabash Township Trustee Jennifer Teising are the muses for a new law in 2022 that expanded the ways to remove rogue and unresponsive township trustees.
Teising was already out of office when the new law took effect, but Coles became the first trustee to face that four-step procedure in the new law.
She resigned the day of her hearing — the final step that might have forced her from office.
Coles ran for re-election in the Democratic primary in 2022, but lost to Monica Casanova, who won election in November 2022.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Ex-trustee's choices: Reach an agreement or face trial in December
