No charges after February search at Wabash Township Fire department
ZIONSVILLE, Ind. — The Feb. 1 search at the Wabash Township Fire Department will not result in any charges, Zionsville police Capt. Drake Sterling said Friday.
He referred the Journal & Courier on to another public information officer for more details. That officer has not yet responded to a voicemail.
"At this time, we are closing our investigation ... with no charges to be filed," a Zionsville detective stated in a March 6 email acquired by the Journal & Courier. "All of his property can be picked up from the Whitestown Police Department and the Boone County Sheriff’s Office."
The email thanked township and department officials, as well as the target of the search warrants, for their cooperation.
On Friday, Wabash Township Fire Chief Ed Ward released a statement.
"That morning (Feb. 1), we were informed that the scope of the search warrant was narrowed to the personal property of an individual employee," Ward wrote,
“Neither Zionsville detectives nor the small portion of the search warrant that was provided to my office indicated the purpose of the search warrant," Ward wrote. "Upon completion of the search warrant, the employee was placed on unpaid administrative leave.
"It’s absolutely not the place of my office to release information regarding the investigation," Ward wrote, "but I do feel that it’s incredibly important for our community to understand that they are safe.
"While headlines about a 'raid' at a firehouse certainly get clicks and views, it does little more than erode the public’s trust in our organization and our personnel," Ward wrote. "We are, however, hopeful that the agencies involved in this investigation will use it as a tool to help educate the public on the horrifying public and private effects of identity theft."
In the predawn hours of Feb. 1, Zionsville officers served a search warrant at the Wabash Township Fire Department.
More: Zionsville police search Wabash Township Fire Department
At the same time that officers searched the fire department, other officers were at a home in Lebanon believed to be linked to the same investigation.
The Journal & Courier has not reported what police were looking for in the searches and has not reported who was the target of the search warrants.
Ward said the person who was the target of the searches returned to work on March 15.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: No charges after February search at Wabash Township Fire department
