The special judge in the massive corruption case against Jamey Noel, a former Indiana sheriff, yelled at him before sending him to jail for contempt of court.
The Indiana courtroom was deadly silent as Special Judge Larry Medlock took the bench. He sat down frowning. Addressing the defendant, the judge reared his arm over his head and slammed his gavel so hard, he broke its wooden base.
Former Clark County sheriff Jamey Noel sat stock still as Medlock raised his voice.
"I told Mr. Noel, 'Don't do anything stupid. Do not try to deceive me or defy me. You will not like the consequences,'" the judge began.
And then he brought his gavel down with a thunderous bang that bounced around the courtroom. "Today is that day," the angry judge told Noel Tuesday.
"You are not the law. You don't interpret the law. You don't enforce the law. You're not above the law," Medlock told the defendant, who was the top law enforcement officer in Clark County for seven years, beginning in 2015.
"I find that you are in contempt of this court. Take him into custody," the judge ordered.
And with that, the former sheriff was handcuffed by deputies who led him from the court. A short time later, Noel exchanged his suit and tie for a jail-issued jumpsuit and was booked into the neighboring Scott County Jail.
Noel was found in contempt Tuesday after recent police searches of his home allegedly turned up two semi-automatic weapons. Medlock had warned Noel in November, when he was released on an all-cash bail of $75,000, that he must turn over all of his weapons, except for a single shotgun, as a condition of his bond.
If Noel violated those conditions, the judge told him then, "You will not like the consequences."
Noel has been charged with 25 felony counts including theft, official misconduct, tax evasion and corrupt business influence, according to court records. He has been under criminal investigation by Indiana State Police since June 2023, authorities said.
He is accused of stealing as much as $5 million in acts of official misconduct that include buying and selling luxury cars with public funds and using his deputies as personal gophers and handymen on his private properties while they were on the clock for the sheriff's department, according to court documents.
Noel simultaneously served as the head of a nonprofit firefighting and rescue agency, the Utica Township Volunteer Firefighters Association, also known as New Chapel EMS, according to authorities.
State investigators allege in search warrant affidavits that Noel took out credit cards in the fire agency's name, and used those cards to illegally purchase as much as $5 million in designer clothing, liquor, cigars, home appliances, vacations, travel, college tuitions for his two youngest daughters, as well as child support payments to a former county official with whom he fathered a child, according to authorities.
Noel and the Clark County Jail were also featured in the A&E reality series "60 Days In" for two seasons, beginning in 2016, something the incensed judge referenced Tuesday.
"Now, the question is, what is the appropriate sanction?" Medlock said to Noel's attorneys after he was escorted from the court room. "I can sentence him to up to 180 days without a trial. Or I can sentence him to a day, or I could release him.
"You know what I think the answer is? Sixty days in," the judge told defense lawyers.
Courtroom video of the angry judge's remarks drew widespread social media retorts. "I’ve never seen a judge that mad before," wrote one poster. "THANK YOU JUDGE MEDLOCK!!" wrote another.
"WOW," a Facebook post began, and was followed by a shocked-face emoji. "Volume up!!! Stunning video from a Southern Indiana courtroom Tuesday when the judge ruled Former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel is in contempt of court. This judge is not messing around."
Noel's lead counsel, James Voyles had unsuccessfully argued his client made a mistake when directing two other people to round up the guns at his home and didn't realize there were two guns in his basement.
Medlock did not accept that argument.
"Every time I go into court I hear, 'I didn't know it was there. I didn't know it was there.' I've heard that a million times," the judge said.
Noel has pleaded not guilty. His trial is set to begin later this year.
Noel's wife, Misty Noel, faces five counts of theft and five counts of tax evasion, all felonies. Their daughter Kasey Noel faces five counts of theft and four counts of tax evasion, also all felonies. The women have also pleaded not guilty. They are currently free on bail.
During Tuesday's contempt hearing, the state's lead investigator testified that 82 weapons had been found when Noel was arrested in November.
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