Witnesses expressed concern about Warrick County Commissioners' actions to state police
BOONVILLE, Ind. — The state investigation into Warrick County Animal Control, which last week resulted in a special prosecutor levying five new felony charges against the agency’s former supervisor, comes against a backdrop of conflict and ongoing legal battles between the county’s three-member commission and its health department.
Court records detailing the Indiana State Police investigation show that between December and early January, actions taken by the commissioners became a subject of discussion between the ISP and cooperating witnesses who provided testimony linking the former animal control supervisor, Danielle Barnes, and two others to a string of alleged criminal offenses.
Thursday morning, the three commissioners − Dan Saylor, Terry Phillippe and Robert Johnson − staged a news conference at the Warrick County Courthouse to discuss the investigation and changes they claim to have instituted at Warrick County Animal Control.
But, the commissioners themselves had little to say.
A fill-in spokesperson addressed reporters Thursday and reiterated talking points the commissioners have repeatedly cited in past public statements — namely that Barnes' alleged criminal activity occurred while Aaron Franz, the administrator of Warrick County's Health Department, had the authority to oversee animal control.
In a news release published Wednesday, the commissioners wrote: "At the time of these allegations, Warrick Animal Control operated as part of the Warrick Health Department under the direction of Aaron Franz. The commissioners terminated Mr. Franz as Administrator of the Health Department in December 2023 for failure to perform job duties."
But the commissioners' move to fire Franz and remove three health board members is now the subject of an ongoing lawsuit, with Franz's attorney, Mark Phillips, arguing the commissioners lack the statutory authority to fire his client, who Phillips said had committed no wrongdoing and performed his duties well.
On Thursday, after the brief news conference, Phillips said any attempt by the commissioners to link Franz's oversight role at the health department to Barnes' alleged crimes is a lie.
And, court records appear to support Phillips' claims that Franz played a key role in reporting alleged wrongdoing at Warrick County Animal Control to both Warrick County officials and the Indiana State Police. Unnamed witnesses employed by Warrick County who worked with Franz cooperated with the state police investigation and repeatedly turned over critical evidence to detectives.
At least one unnamed witness discussed actions taken by the commissioners with ISP detectives in December, including an incident that led state troopers to "secure" an animal control building after the witness reportedly feared the commissioners could attempt to take control of, and potentially destroy, sensitive records related to Barnes' alleged crimes, court records show.
Witness concerns about commissioners' actions detailed in sworn affidavits
The special prosecutor in the Warrick Animal Control cases, Samantha Hurst, of Perry County, alleged last week that Barnes, 55; Susan Broshears, 50; and Jamie Hubiak, 35, netted thousands of dollars by utilizing county funds and animal control facilities to further an unlawful pet adoption scheme.
The three women have all pleaded not guilty.
More: Former Warrick Co. Animal Control supervisor and one other facing new charges
State troopers first arrested Barnes on Dec. 13 after a search of her home allegedly turned up a cache of stolen kitten vaccines and animal microchips worth thousands of dollars. At that time, the investigation into Warrick County Animal Control was in its early stages and the ISP had not publicly disclosed information about Barnes’ alleged pilfering of public funds.
Some animal welfare advocates had rallied to support Barnes following her December arrest, telling the Courier & Press Barnes had labored for years to save unwanted and unhoused animals on a tight budget and with help from her nonprofit, commonly referred to as WAG.
According to a sworn affidavit filed last week in Warrick County Circuit Court, just one day prior to Barnes’ December arrest an unnamed witness frantically called state police detectives to express concern about the Warrick County Commission’s recent move to assume direct oversight of animal control, which for years had been under the authority of the Warrick County Health Department.
“Witness 1 was concerned that the commissioners were planning to take control of the animal control building and the records of the alleged crimes committed by Ms. Barnes and others,” Master Trooper Patrick S. Stinson wrote in the affidavit. “Witness 1 feared that the records could be destroyed.”
Troopers quickly secured the Warrick County Animal Control building at 655 Roth Road after the witness placed the phone call on Dec. 12. According to Stinson, the situation was “very tense,” and Warrick County Animal Control employees “were scared for their safety,” he later wrote.
The Courier & Press forwarded questions and requests for comment regarding this and other incidents discussed in ISP records to the Warrick County Commission's legal counsel, attorney Todd Glass of Fine & Hatfield, Wednesday afternoon.
Glass did not respond to the questions, and the commissioners did not take questions following the conclusion of Thursday's news conference.
Warrick County officials aware of Barnes allegations prior to ISP investigation
The criminal investigation into Warrick County Animal Control picked up speed in early December. Initially, it entailed discussions between ISP personnel and witnesses who had worked for animal control or with Barnes, according to Stinson’s written account in the affidavits.
But concerns about Barnes surfaced earlier.
An administrative assistant at Warrick County Animal Control who spoke with detectives and provided a detailed written statement to investigators said an unnamed “administrator/health designee” at the Warrick County Health Department had tasked them in the spring of 2023 with improving animal control’s operational efficiency, according to their statement.
Over a roughly 10-month period working at animal control, the witness claimed to have uncovered missing pet adoption fees, unlawful commingling of nonprofit and county resources and troubling practices surrounding Barnes’ handling of controlled drugs.
“(Barnes) was allegedly transferring purebred dogs from the Warrick County animal shelter to her nonprofit and was selling them,” Stinson wrote, summarizing the witness’ findings. “Ms. Barnes allegedly used county resources and vaccines to vaccinate her nonprofit animals. Witness 1 stated that there are large amounts of controlled substance order forms missing.”
According to public records, Barnes has operated the non-profit Warrick Animal Guardians since 2012. The group's website states that Warrick Animal Guardians “raises much-needed funds for Warrick County Animal Control,” and a photograph on the site appears to depict a Warrick County Animal Control vehicle.
The ISP would later allege that Barnes mixed funds and resources between her nonprofit and Warrick Animal Control. A Banterra Bank account belonging to Warrick Animal Guardians allegedly held a cash balance of more than $50,000 by late last year.
Thursday morning, the three commissioners published a timeline of events as they saw them, which noted a Nov. 28 request by Franz and the health department to open an investigation into Barnes.
"No documents were provided by Health Dept. to perform investigation," the commission's prepared timeline states.
But on Dec. 1, the Warrick County Health Department's attorney, April Edwards, forwarded a written statement to the county's human resources department detailing alleged wrongdoing by Barnes and articulating Franz's rationale for suspending her employment earlier that year, according to public records.
"In summary, it has become apparent that Ms. Barnes was utilizing her position with (Warrick County Animal Control) to run (Warrick Animal Guardians) while getting paid by the county to perform her job duties," the Dec. 1 statement reads, in part. "She failed to conduct affairs in a legal manner as set forth herein."
According to public records, this forwarding of information pertaining to Barnes came about one week before the ISP formally initiated its investigation.
For its part, the ISP reached several conclusions after detectives interviewed witnesses, reviewed adoption forms and analyzed Warrick County's financial records over a span of weeks.
In 2023, 467 animals were taken in by the county’s shelter and adopted or returned to their owners, all of which would have required fees to be paid to the county, according to Stinson. But of the 467 animals, payments for just 61 appeared in county financial records, he alleges.
“Monies were collected for all 467 animals, most of which are unaccounted for,” Stinson wrote in a sworn affidavit. “Ms. Broshears conspired with Danielle Barnes to conceal money, steal money, falsify official records and transport the stolen funds to Banterra Bank.”
Hubiak had allegedly adopted more than 300 animals since 2019 but paid no money in fees to Warrick County Animal Control, despite often surrendering purebred dogs to the county’s shelter only to assume custody of the animals hours later after they had received vaccinations and microchip implants.
Commissioners moved to fire health department administrator who reported concerns about Barnes
Shortly after news broke that Barnes had been taken into custody on Dec. 13, the Warrick County Commissioners issued a public statement addressing “animal control issues.”
“Yesterday, the Commissioners terminated the employment of Aaron Franz, administrator of the health department, citing a need to change the direction, structure and leadership of that department,” the statement read, in part. “The commissioners have also learned that the Indiana State Police is investigating actions taken by the Animal Control Department while it was under the leadership of Mr. Franz.”
But according to court records, it was the health department and its “administrator/health designee” that pushed Barnes out of her supervisory position and barred her from animal control property before any criminal investigation was ever opened.
While the health department administrator is listed in court records simply as an unnamed witness, statements taken by the ISP note that the Warrick County Commissioners had “fired” this witness in December around the same time the commissioners passed an ordinance removing the health department’s authority to oversee animal control, instead assuming oversight themselves.
The commissioners’ decision to terminate Franz’s employment is now the subject of an ongoing civil lawsuit, as is the commissioners' decision to remove several health department board members.
Commissioners reportedly instructed animal control employee in December to 'ignore complaints;' sought to oversee seizure of drugs
The probable cause affidavit filed in Barnes’ case mentions two additional incidents that reportedly involved actions taken by the commissioners. A witness statement provided to the ISP, which is included in its entirety in Stinson’s sworn affidavit, describes a “recorded conversation,” dated Dec. 18, between the witness and the commissioners.
During that call, the commissioners reportedly told the witness to “ignore complaints” made to Warrick County Animal Control and to “do everything possible to not take in animals at this time.”
The other incident reportedly occurred in early January when Warrick County Animal Control’s veterinarian resigned from his post, creating yet another problem for the embattled animal control department to solve: What would happen to controlled drugs procured with the veterinarian’s license?
According to witness testimony cited in court records, the Warrick County Commissioners quickly took steps to secure possession of the drugs. The now-resigned veterinarian and the witness were concerned that such a move could amount to unlawful possession of controlled substances, Stinson wrote in Barnes’ arrest affidavit.
“The Warrick County Sheriff, Michael Wilder, had the commissioners at the sheriff’s office wanting him to get involved in seizing the drugs,” Stinson wrote. “I instructed (a witness) not to release the drugs until I could get clarification from the DEA.”
Ultimately, the decision was made for the drugs to be inventoried and turned over to the veterinarian. Stinson did not clarify in the affidavit why the commissioners may have tried to secure the drugs, though the incident reportedly occurred soon after Saylor, Phillippe and Johnson passed an ordinance granting them oversight of Warrick County Animal Control.
New animal control director speaks to reporters
The commissioners flexed that new oversight authority during Thursday's news conference when they introduced their newly hired director of Warrick County Animal Control, David Ruckoldt, who took on a supervisory role several week ago.
"My whole life I've been around animals; one of the most healing things that you can have is an animal in your life," Ruckoldt told reporters. "There's been zero euthanizations in the county since I took over the animal control department."
But some questions about the department's continued operations remain unanswered. To date, Ruckoldt said he was still exploring how best to provide certain veterinary services that require the use of controlled drugs. And due to months of legal woes for the department, hiring a full staff could be a challenge, Rouckoldt said.
Just who is David Ruckoldt? When asked about his background and if he had any prior supervisory experience, Ruckoldt said he had volunteered at Dewitt Animal Control.
"It was a volunteer basis, it was just something I wanted to do to give back to my community," Ruckoldt said. "It wasn't a paid position."
Ruckoldt is now tasked with righting the ship at Warrick County Animal Control even as a still-ongoing criminal investigation and civil lawsuits loom. Mending fractured relationships with area vets and nonprofits is a critical short-term goal, Ruckoldt said.
Where Barnes, Broshears and Hubiak cases stand
In December, Warrick County Prosecutor Michale J. Perry filed a motion to recuse himself from Barnes's case due to potential conflicts of interest. A judge responded by appointing Hurst, the Perry County Prosecutor, to oversee the Warrick Animal Control cases.
Hurst filed 10 felony charges across all three cases, with Hubiak facing the fewest:
Aiding, inducing or causing corrupt business influence, a Level 5 felony
Aiding, inducing or causing theft, a misdemeanor
Theft, a misdemeanor
Hubiak, who police arrested Monday evening, is scheduled to appear in Warrick County Circuit Court on Feb. 9.
Barnes and Broshears stand charged with six offenses each:
Corrupt business influence, a Level 5 felony. In Broshears case, she is charged with aiding, inducing or causing that offense.
Two counts of official misconduct, a Level 6 felony
Ghost employment, a Level 6 felony
Two counts of misdemeanor theft. In Broshears' case, she stands accused of aiding, inducing or causing theft in addition to one count of misdemeanor theft.
Barnes, who posted bond after her December arrest, is scheduled to appear in a Warrick County courtroom Feb. 9 for her initial hearing, according to court records. In December, the ISP filed an affidavit of probable cause to support charging Barnes with additional counts of theft and possession of a legend drug.
Broshears, arrested Friday and released from jail Monday after posting a cash bond, will appear in court for an initial hearing on Feb. 26, according to her case docket.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Witnesses expressed concerns about Warrick Co. Commissioners to ISP
