State police: Former Vincennes police chief, wife arrested

Former Vincennes (Indiana) Police Department Chief Dustin Luking and his wife, Bethany Luking, were arrested and charged with separate crimes on Wednesday, according to a news release from the Indiana State Police.

Dustin Luking resigned from the Vincennes Police Department in 2019 after a state police investigation alleged he had stolen $35,000 from the department's evidence vault. An Indiana State Board of Accounts audit also determined that Luking had stolen more than $14,000 from 2013 to 2016, state police said.

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Also in 2019, the state police investigated a theft of prescription medication at the Bettye J. McCormick Senior Center in Vincennes, where Bethany Luking, 49, was an employee.

The Knox County Prosecutor's Office reviewed the case, and a warrant for Bethany Luking's arrest was issued Wednesday morning. Both were arrested Wednesday in Lawrence County, Illinois.

The two are both lodged in the Lawrence County Jail awaiting extradition. Bethany Luking is charged with obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or deceit, a Level 6 felony, while Dustin Luking is charged with three felonies: Level 5 theft and Level 6 forgery and official misconduct.

Affidavits revealing more details about both cases are still sealed by the Knox County prosecutor, an employee with the clerk's office said. Attorney information for either of the Lukings was unavailable Wednesday afternoon.

Contact Ray Couture at rcouture@courierpress.com or on Twitter @raybc94

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Former Vincennes Police Chief Dustin Luking and his wife were arrested