Former Brown County Clerk Kathy Smith was formally charged with two felonies last week for theft and official misconduct following an investigation by local law enforcement.
On Jan. 3 Brown County Det. Brian Shrader was asked to look into a case concerning Smith allegedly stealing items — mostly office supplies — from the clerk’s office.
A former employee of the clerk’s office spoke with Sheriff Brad Stogsdill and former sheriff Scott Southerland on Dec. 28 and informed them that staff members in the clerk’s office believed Smith to be taking things.
According to the probable cause affidavit, a box of office supplies had arrived at the office after the initial report was made. Police told employees to make small marks on items in the box so they could be located should they go missing in the future.
The employees did this and the box reportedly disappeared.
On Jan. 4 Shrader spoke with the former employee who said that the box in question had “name badges” written on its side, but in the box was a stapler, three boxes of labels, spiral notebooks, small and large lined paper pads, bags of rubber bands highlighters and more.
Another employee at the clerk’s office told police that the order of supplies had 14 line items missing, and the total cost of the supplies amounted to $256.02.
Employees told police that Smith, whose term ended Dec. 31, had been taking a “large amount” of office supplies out of the office for the last two weeks of 2022. Many items, according to the affidavit, disappeared between Christmas and New Year holiday weekends.
Witnesses said that Smith reportedly carried several bags of items out of the office every time she had left the office during her last two weeks.
The former employee said that they personally saw Smith take four boxes of labels and a label maker that was used for the absentee voter board.
They also said that two or three bags with “Brown County Election” embroidered on them were missing.
Smith had reportedly purchased a small refrigerator in 2020 with county funds in order to replace an existing refrigerator in the office.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the old refrigerator had been brought back to the office and the new one was missing.
Employees said that Smith said she put the new refrigerator in the basement of the Brown County Law Enforcement Center.
When the old refrigerator died in 2022, Smith reportedly purchased a new refrigerator that was still in the office. When asked what happened to the other new refrigerator, Smith said she had returned it, according to the affidavit.
The first refrigerator was ordered from Office Depot in September 2020 for a cost of $200.99 and was never credited back to the county as having been returned, the affidavit says.
It was also not located in the LEC, according to the affidavit.
During a conversation with Smith on Jan. 9, she told Shrader that the refrigerator was left at Brown County Parks and Recreation when they had elections there.
Office staff at parks and recreation told law enforcement that the refrigerator was removed by Smith. The refrigerator has not been located.
Clerk’s office employees told law enforcement that Smith had also purchased first aid supplies in 2020 for the elections and told staff that they were in the cage of the LEC. Employees claimed that the supplies were not there.
During the investigation Shrader spoke with employees at the clerk’s office who said they witnessed Smith printing more than 200 pages of documents that were for the Fruitdale Fire Department, on which Smith served.
The employees said that Smith printed fire department documents regularly during her term.
The fire chief confirmed this information with Shrader and said that Smith was facing disciplinary action with the department because of papers printed while she was in office as well as admitting that she typed FFD meeting minutes while at the clerk’s office on county computers.
During the last two weeks of 2022, Smith was seen taking items to her and her husband’s vehicles outside of the Brown County Courthouse.
Security footage showed Smith carrying items to the vehicles.
According to the affidavit, Smith had difficulty closing the trunk of the vehicle due to the amount of items stored.
Security footage also showed Smith carrying the box with marked items out of the office on Dec. 28.
On Jan. 9 Shrader served a warrant at Smith’s residence, where the only item found was the “Brown County Election” bag.
The following day, Shrader learned that Smith used a storage facility outside of Nashville that was under the name of her daughter and paid for by her mother. After obtaining a warrant, Shrader searched the unit and found all missing office supplies with marks on them.
Also at the storage unit Shrader found two boxes full of brand new three ring binders. The boxes were marked with shipping labels that had the address of the clerk’s office.
According to the affidavit, the value of the binders totaled to $144.
About 20 other binders were found in the unit that totaled to $240. The missing first aid supplies were also found, as well as labels valued at $32 and the label maker, which cost about $50.
“Kathy Smith for Coroner” signs were also found.
Several items in the storage unit were labeled as belonging to the Brown County Election Board. Smith had reportedly told Shrader the election bag found at her home was the only one she had.
Smith was arrested and taken to Brown County Jail on Jan. 10, where she was interviewed by Shrader.
Shrader reportedly asked Smith why she lied the day prior when she said she had not taken anything.
On Jan. 10 he asked her why she did not say anything about taking things to her storage shed, to which she reportedly said that she did not have a storage shed.
Smith claimed that she took the office supplies to replace items she had purchased for the office herself. Shrader asked if she had receipts for the items she had purchased, as the normal procedure is to seek reimbursement.
She told Shrader she no longer had receipts.
Shrader reportedly asked Smith several times why she had taken the office supplies, but never provided a reason.
In total with the office supplies, missing refrigerator, binders and label maker, the county paid $1,016.80 for items that Smith had reportedly taken.
Smith was booked into the jail on Jan. 10 and had not been released as of Jan. 19.
The amount puts the theft over the threshold, making it a Level 6 felony in the state of Indiana. Smith was also charged with a Level 6 felony for official misconduct.
An initial hearing was held Jan. 11 and the pretrial conference is set for Feb. 20, followed by a jury trial on March 8.
According to court documents, Smith has not yet hired an attorney for these charges, but is working with Hoffman & Newcomb in Franklin for charges filed against her last year.
Other charges
Smith still faces three charges that were filed in March last year following an investigation by the Indiana State Police that began nearly three years ago.
ISP Det. David Makowsky’s report alleges that Smith used a county government credit card to make personal purchases, then failed to provide receipts to Brown County Auditor Julie Reeves, according to a probable cause affidavit filed March 1, 2022.
Smith was issued the card to pay for smaller items needed in her office. When the county credit cards are used, an “Accounts Payable Voucher” detailing what was purchased and where is due at the end of the month, and a receipt should accompany each purchase listed on the voucher. ISP was asked to investigate the possibility Smith had used her county-issued credit card for personal purchases. She had reportedly described items purchased on the voucher as items that were different than what was purchased, Makowsky reported in the affidavit.
The investigation began in 2020 after Smith had allegedly failed to provide receipts for purchases on the credit card that were made in May and June that year. After the receipts were turned in, there were “questionable purchases made that did not appear that they would be for use in the clerk’s office,” the affidavit states. Makowsky then asked Reeves to review all vouchers Smith had submitted from the time she took office in January 2019 due to “irregularities.”
In July 2019, Smith submitted a voucher to the auditor for $21.42 at Walmart spent May 19, 2019. She said it was for binder protective sleeves. The receipt showed she had spent $15.78 on candy, $2.27 on ink pens and $1.27 on sticky notes for a total of $21.42 including tax.
Later that year, a deputy auditor was trying to pay the credit card bill and asked Smith for two receipts. Smith said she had the receipts in her car that was being repaired, but she did not try to get the receipts from the repair shop, and the auditor’s office never received them. One purchase was at Walmart for $47.10 and another was $21.94 at Staples. Smith told the auditor’s office that the Walmart purchase was for clear containers to store paper in, paper to print marriage licenses, and cleaning supplies.
The main voucher in question was from May 17, 2020. Smith described the purchase as being for election items including supplies to make signage and mark voting machines, according to the voucher Smith submitted. On May 17, 2020 Smith spent $22.06 at a Family Dollar store on a bottle of cleaning solution; laxatives and suppositories; Magnesium Citrate; Donald Duck orange juice and Turtles candy.
According to the affidavit, Smith had made three other purchases in May and did not provide receipts for two of the three. She spent $161.86 at a Sam’s Club on May 31, 2020, and provided a receipt of mainly food and drink items. A bath mat was also purchased there. Smith did not provide receipts for $7.68 spent at Staples on May 19, 2020 and $17.66 spent at Family Dollar on May 28, 2020, the report said.
Vouchers were submitted for purchases in October 2019. Two receipts for $85.51 and $131.25 spent at Party City were submitted, with most of the items being balloons and tablecloths.
In speaking with police, Reeves also said that the county-issued credit card Smith had been using was suspended due to her “not properly submitting receipts with the voucher.”
In addition to the felony charge, Smith was charged with deception and theft, both Class A misdemeanors.
A special prosecuting attorney was appointed to this case following the completion of the ISP investigation with Bartholomew County Deputy Prosecutor Josh Scherschel being assigned to this case. A special judge was also appointed by the Indiana Supreme Court.
All authority involving charging decisions were turned over to Scherschel, Brown County Prosecutor Ted Adams said last year.
On March 3, Jackson County Judge Amymarie Travis was appointed as the special judge. The following day Smith was booked into the Brown County jail, but was released the same day after posting bond.
A pretrial conference is set for April 21, with a jury trial scheduled on June 1.
