FRANKFORT, IN — The Clinton County commissioners are calling for the immediate resignation of Sheriff Richard Kelly and Jail Matron Ashley Kelly after last week’s court ruling that found both personally liable for the misappropriation of more than $329,000 in public money.
A judge ordered Richard Kelly, his wife, Ashley Kelly, and their shared business, Leonne, to repay $329,360.47 after an audit by the State Board of Accounts found the couple and their business had improperly issued checks from the jail commissary fund.
The ruling issued on Sept. 17 came as a partial summary judgment by Special Judge Thomas Lett of Tipton, after several years of legal disputes following the SBOA report released on Nov. 23, 2021.
The audit report examined financial information of the Clinton County sheriff’s office and the Clinton County Jail Commissary for the period between Jan. 1, 2019, and Sept. 30, 2021.
During those 33 months, the SBOA found that 85 checks were improperly issued from the jail’s commissary fund to Leonne totaling $190,916.61. In that same time frame, the SBOA found checks were also improperly issued to Ashley Kelly, totaling $32,967.92.
That was a combined total of $223,884.53, the report said, calculated as 50% of the jail commissary’s profits on merchandise sales.
The reason the issuances of the checks was improper, the SBOA said in the report, was due to no written agreement having been previously approved by the Clinton County Council or Board of Commissioners, as state law requires. In a previous opinion filed on Dec. 14, 2023, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that approval from the county was needed before spending commissary funds.
Lett said in the that the Kellys and Leonne will be required to pay a total of $329,360.47, which includes the cost of the audit at $109,725.82.
Counts 2 through 5 of the Indiana attorney general’s lawsuit remain. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Oct. 6.
Ashley Kelly is running for Clinton County sheriff in 2026.
“The court’s findings make it clear that public trust has been broken,” Jordan Brewer, president of the county commissioners, said in a news release Tuesday, Sept. 23. “When elected officials and those entrusted with public funds abuse that responsibility, they forfeit their right to continue serving in positions of authority. For the good of the sheriff’s office and the people of Clinton County, Sheriff Kelly and Matron Kelly should resign immediately.”
The commissioners pointed out in the release that the ruling follows years of litigation and repeated findings in both trial and appellate courts that Richard Kelly acted outside his authority in managing commissary funds.
“This is not about politics — it is about accountability,” commissioner Bert Weaver added in the release. “Our residents deserve leaders who uphold the law and safeguard taxpayer dollars. The only path forward is for both Richard and Ashley Kelly to step down.”
The commissioners said they will work with county legal counsel and state officials to ensure that safeguards are in place to prevent future misuse of commissary money.
Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. She can be reached via email at jellison@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Clinton County commissioners: Sheriff, wife should resign after judge’s ruling